Mathis Menzel, Menzel

Elektromotoren GmbH,
Germany, discusses
the advantages and
disadvantages of different
types of motor coolers.

Motor

Cooling
Variants
Introduction

Unlike internal combustion

engines, electric motors are generally
characterised by very high efficiency. In fact,
ongoing engineering efforts have pushed the
degree of efficiency of modern motors to within a
few percentage points of 100%, depending on the size
of a given motor. Today, an efficiency of 96% has virtually
become the standard, and even 97% is not infrequently
achieved. At the same time, soaring energy costs have
become a powerful stimulant that drives redevelopments and
the engineering progress toward further improvements in the
degree of efficiency, the idea being to save on resources
and to lower the operating overhead.
Notwithstanding these efforts, the operation
of electrical motors continues to involve
certain energy losses in the form
of friction losses, core losses,
hysteresis losses, all of which
manifest themselves as
waste heat. In order to
prevent an impermissible
heating of the motor
and specifically of the
winding, it is necessary
to dissipate this
heat.

Reprinted from October 2008 World CemenT

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Cooling methods

With smaller motors (depending on the type and

size, generally up to somewhere near frame size
560mm, which translates into a performance
envelope of about 2 MW), the standard cooling
method is surface cooling (usually using ribbed
housings). In the case of larger motors, the type
most commonly used is a modular construction. In
fact, slip ring motors in the medium voltage segment
(nominal currents above 1000V) are manufactured
almost exclusively in the form of modular motors.
A characteristic feature of such motors is that the
electric part is identical for any of the various cooling
types, so that the differences are mainly associated
with the added cooling system.

Comparison

In principle, motors of the cooling types IC 01

and IC81W are identical except for the respective
heat exchanger, as the cooling performance of an
ambient-air system practically matches that of a
water-cooled system (assuming that the air fed
into the motor does not exceed a temperature of
40 C). By contrast, the cooling effect of air-to-air
heat exchangers (where the internal circuit and the
external circuit both use air) is markedly inferior,
resulting in a performance loss of about 30%
depending on frame size, even though the electrical
construction is identical. The difference is also
reflected in the decidedly higher procurement costs
for a motor of the IC 611 cooling type, the power
output being the same.
Today, motors of the IC 611 cooling type
equipped with a mounted air-to-air cooler are
predominantly used in the cement industry (serving
as drives for mills, crushers, and fans), among other
applications. Few motors, and least of all large mill
drives, follow the IC 01 cooling type: i.e.the opencircuit cooled design.
In the cement industry, for one, the IC 81
cooling type is rarely found. Then again, its specific
advantages cause it to be the motor of choice in
a variety of other sectors, such as power plant
technology or the paper and steel industry, where it
accounts for an overwhelming share of the electric
motors deployed. It is unlikely that the IC81W
cooling type will ever gain a substantially higher

Figure 1. IC 01 open-circuit ventilation cooler.

Figure 2. Workings of the IC 01 opencircuit ventilation cooler.

Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of different cooling systems

Cooling type

IC 611 air-to-air heat exchanger

IC 81 W air-to-water heat
exchanger

IC 01 open-circuit ventilation

Advantages

Winding is protected against

environmental impact.

System is independent from any

cooling water circuit.

Winding is protected against

environmental impact.

Cooling pipes and motor winding

remain clean from deposits.

The ambient temperature has a

negligible impact.

System is marked by a superior,

constant cooling effect.

System involves lowest

procurement costs.

Cooling pipes, in which deposits

might collect, are not required.

The cooling method is very

effective.

System involves the highest

procurement costs, comparatively
speaking.

The frame size is larger than with

the other cooling types due to
the less effective cooling method.

System requires an increased

cleaning effort.

A cooling water system is

required.

System is more expensive than

IC01 type motors.

Ambient, airborne pollutants are

drawn into the motor.

Disadvantages

Reprinted from World CemenT October 2008

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share of the market in this sector than it has today,

not least because the use of water in any given
process is avoided as much as possible in the
cement industry.
By contrast, the deployment of water-cooled
motors is particularly sensible wherever water-cooled
drives are already part of a given process. This is
often the case with water-cooled gear units, in which
the use of a shared cooling circuit seems the obvious
answer.
In terms of its basic design, the IC 611 cooling
type with air-to-air heat exchanger representing the
established standard in the cement industry has
the one major advantage in that it requires neither
water nor a clean environment. Then again, a motor
of this type does require regular monitoring and
visual inspection to make sure that the cooling ducts
are not clogged by deposits that would prevent the
dissipation of heat into the environment. Failure
to dissipate the heat would eventually cause the
motor to overheat and as is to be hoped trigger
an alarm by the temperature control, assuming a
thermostat is properly installed and set.

factors, including deployment context, environmental

aspects, the value-for-money ratio, and market
forces._________________________________________________l

Figure 4. Workings of the IC 81W

air-to-water heat exchanger.

Conclusion

In closing, it should be added that it is impossible

to make an unqualified recommendation for any one
cooling type over all others. Here as everywhere,
the specific conditions and requirements of a given
facility and location always need to be taken into
account. At the same time, it is safe to diagnose
a tendency in the cement industry to favour
open-circuit cooled motors of the IC 01 cooling
type. This is explained by the fact that, on the one
hand, the required output and with it the size of
the motors keeps increasing, while, on the other
hand, the environmental conditions of newly raised
cement plants continue to improve, causing the
advantages of lower acquisition costs to outweigh
the disadvantages of pollution. In short, the choice of
cooling type is ultimately subject to a combination of
Figure 5. IC 611 air-to-air heat exchanger.

Figure 3. IC 81W air-to-water heat exchanger.

Figure 6. Workings of the IC 611 air-to-air heat exchanger.

Reprinted from October 2008 World CemenT

www.worldcement.com