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Enhanced electric motor performance in transportation vehicles can improve system reliability and durability over rigorous operating cycles. The design of innovative heat rejection strategies in electric motors can minimize cooling power consumption and associated noise generation while offering configuration flexibility. This study investigates an innovative electric motor cooling strategy through bench top thermal testing on an emulated electric motor. The system design includes passive (e.g., heat pipes) cooling as the primary heat rejection pathway with supplemental conventional cooling using a variable speed coolant pump and radiator fan(s). The integrated thermal structure, “cradle”, transfers heat from the motor shell towards an end plate for heat dissipation to the ambient surroundings or transmission to an external thermal bus to remote heat exchanger.

The functionality and performance of an internal combustion (spark or compression ignition) engine's thermal management system can be significantly enhanced through the application of mechatronics technology. The replacement of the conventional thermostat valve and mechanical coolant pump in the heating/cooling system by a servo-motor driven smart valve and variable flow pump permits powertrain control module regulated coolant flow through the engine block and radiator. In this paper, a dynamic mathematical model will be created for a 4.6L spark ignition engine to analyze various thermal management system architectures. The designs to be studied include the factory configuration, a smart valve upgrade, and the smart valve combined with a variable flow pump and radiator fan. Representative results are presented and discussed to demonstrate improvements in the engine warm-up time, temperature tracking, and component power consumption.