Optimization and Comparison of 1MW-Class PM Motors for Aircraft Propulsion Using Litz Wire and Hairpin Windings

Anh Thanh Huynh, Hailin Huang, Jianan Jiang, Tianjie Zou, David Gerada, Tao Yang, Chris Gerada

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Choosing the right winding technology is key to maximizing power density and efficiency in electric aircraft propulsion. This paper presents a two-level optimization strategy to evaluate Litz wire and hairpin winding configurations in two 1 MW-class PM machines, each with a 5-stage Halbach array and a 72-slot/12-pole configuration. The global optimization (GO) stage analyzes their impact on power density, loss distribution, and efficiency. Results show that hairpin winding increases power density by reducing active mass but suffers from higher AC copper losses. To address this, an updated motor constant (Km) serves as a fitness function in a Genetic Algorithm (GA) during the local optimization (LO) stage, refining the hairpin winding and stator slot design to reduce losses and enhance efficiency. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) validates the performance and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Original languageEnglish
JournalIEEE Transactions on Magnetics
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2025

Keywords

  • Aircraft Applications
  • Hairpin Winding
  • High Power Density
  • Litz Wire
  • Optimization
  • PM machines

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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