German company Mahle developed an electric motor that can constantly operate under a load of more than 90% of the peak. The Superior Continuous Torque (SCT) motor does not overheat in the vast majority of harsh applications. At the same time, it is compact and lightweight, which also makes it cheaper. It is expected that the SCT electric motor will become the basis of both passenger electric vehicles and electric heavy equipment.
Image Source: Mahle
Ordinary electric motors cannot work for a long time at loads close to maximum – they simply overheat. It comes to the point that in electric vehicles, the long-term load on electric motors does not rise above 50–60% of the peak load. In order to better cool the electric motor, it has to be made more massive – larger and heavier. So you can increase the long-term load on the electric motor up to 70-80%, but at a rather high price both in money and due to the loss of part of the payload (which will be eaten by the extra weight of the electric motor).
Image Source: Mahle
German engineers have managed to develop a lightweight and powerful electric motor that can handle a constant load of over 90% of the maximum. A truck with such an engine will not run out of steam on a steep climb with a heavy load in the back, and a racing electric car will show the wonders of working under load on the track.
The secret of the development lies in the automatic supply of oil for cooling. The oil is sucked in through the central intake and, due to the centrifugal force of the rotating rotor, is pumped around the coils. Heated oil from the engine can be used both for heating the components and assemblies of an electric vehicle, for example, a battery pack in winter, or it can be cooled through radiators.
What’s more, Mahle’s designers are developing an oil-cooled version of the motor without permanent (neodymium) magnets. Such electric motors will not depend on the supply of rare earth raw materials and will be cheaper, although due to the replacement of magnets with electric winding, the motors will be slightly larger. Previously we reported regarding this Mahle development.
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