Engineering polymers with high mechanical and thermal resistance for electric motors

The aim of the research was to select and evaluate polymers that could be used as rotor insulation in electric motors based on Halbach array system. Which have specific material properties, such as high mechanical strength, high thermal resistance and, especially, high thermal conductivity, also at room and at elevated temperatures. Three high performance polymers were selected for the research: polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyamideimide (PAI) and poly(p-phenylene sulphide) (PPS). Polymers were evaluated for mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, specific heat capacity, linear thermal expansion and also differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetry (TG) analyses were carried out. Analyses are proved that all materials have appropriate properties for advanced electric motor insulator.