Ansys Maxwell – 3PH Induction Motor – Part 2 – Machine Toolkit ACT

This blog is a continuation of “Ansys Maxwell: 3PH Induction Motor – Force and Thermal Coupling”. In this blog I show how the Ansys Machine Toolkit ACT is used to develop Torque vs Speed curves, a family of performance curves, including the Efficiency Map, to evaluate the performance of a 3PH induction motor modelled in Ansys Maxwell.

ANSYS ACT – MACHINE TOOLKIT ACT

Torque Speed Curves (TSCs) can be developed in Maxwell without using the ACT, but using the ACT facilitates the process to get the TSCs easier and quicker. The Ansys Machine Toolkit is an “Ansys Customization Toolkit” and it is used to develop a family of Torque vs Speed curves, including Efficiency Maps, to evaluate the performance of motors modelled in Ansys Maxwell. The toolkit is capable of evaluating the machines below:

Induction Machines
Switched Reluctance Machines
Synchronous Machines (SMs)
- Permanent magnet machines (PMSM)
- Synchronous reluctance machines (SynRM)
- Wound-rotor synchronous machines (WRSM)

It is possible for a user to use scripting to develop Machine Toolkit for other types of machines but this will not covered in this blog.

A 3PH Induction Motor in Maxwell will be evaluated but must be solved first before running the Machine Toolkit so the simulation data could be used by the toolkit to develop the Torque vs Speed curve and Efficiency Map.

To open the wizard go to the “View” tab and check “ACT Extensions. In the ACT Extensions dialog box that appears select “Launch Wizards”, and then select “Machine Toolkit”.

Configuring Settings in the Machine Toolkit for a 3PH Induction Motor

Motor and Wizard inputs need to be set in four User Interface template pages as shown below. A file with prefilled settings may be used to configure these settings. Choose a project and design and apply the motor settings. A Machine Toolkit manual can be downloaded from the Wizard.