Abstract

This article proposes a 13.5-volt, 450-watt outerrotor brushless DC (BLDC) motor for automotive radiator cooling fan applications. The design and modeling of the proposed BLDC motor are presented in some detail. Dynamic-transient analysis of the proposed motor is performed through finite element method (FEM) simulations using the ANSYS MAXWELL software. An integrated sensorless drive system is designed for the proposed motor which uses the phase voltage zero-crossing to detect the rotor position using the virtual neutral point scheme. The motor drive system simulation is performed through the MULTISIM software and the system's performance is evaluated. Thermal analysis of the drive system is essential due to the strict automotive considerations. In this regard, the thermal analysis of the integrated drive system is performed through the 3D FEM simulations using the SIEMENS FLOTHERM software. In order to validate the simulations, a prototype of the proposed motor in compliance with all automotive considerations is manufactured and some experimental tests including the functional and windtunnel tests are applied to evaluate the design accuracy. The results show that the proposed motor can be a good option for automotive fan applications.