CD-adapco Releases New Version of its Electric Machine Software, SPEED

In June 2011, CD-adapco acquired the electric machine software, SPEED. The version 2011 release is available with over 350 enhancements.

SPEED software allows users to design electric machines such as induction motors (polyphase/1-phase); brushless permanent-magnet motors (square wave/sine wave); d.c. brush motors; switched reluctance motors; and synchronous reluctance motors. Many of the new features in SPEED are intended for generators as well. With over 1500 customers using SPEED for over 20 years, they are among the leading manufacturers, designers, developers and users of electric machines.

Dr. Tim Miller, originator of SPEED and now a consultant to CD-adapco commented, “While this is a great development for SPEED and all our customers, we’re wasting no time in making a complete new release of all the SPEED software and its documentation. One compelling reason why we’ve joined forces with CD-adapco is to make SPEED even better.” Miller continued, “An early sign of SPEED’s progress is the intense collaboration now underway, to share geometry and other design parameters with STAR-CCM+. Another is the development of a 3D electromagnetic solver in STAR-CCM+. And a third is the intense training activity that SPEED is running — two or three times the previous level.”

The industry highlights of SPEED version 2011’s new features are:

Automotive (Hybrid & Electric Vehicles and Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural & Mining Special Vehicles)
SPEED’s finite-element GoFER and embedded solver combine with comprehensive analytical models covering all aspects of the design of all these machines, including thermal as well as electromagnetic and drive control. Enhancements have been made in all aspects of these design calculations, to improve accuracy and cover an even wider range of machine geometry. Of particular importance is the efficient utilization of magnets, and even the elimination of magnets.

The SPEED suite of programs is now structured to give seamless design capability over the entire range of permanent-magnet machines and the alternatives including hybrid combinations. SPEED covers the entire range of power, voltage, and speed used in vehicle systems. SPEED plays a key role not only in drivetrain engineering but also in auxiliaries such as starter-generators, many kinds of pumps, blowers, and actuators, and even the KERS systems used in F1.

Refrigeration, Domestic Appliances & Water
Efficiency requirements are driving these industries towards continual technological evolution, in a context of extreme cost pressure and material supply issues. SPEED is used as the main design tool in several leading companies manufacturing compressors, washing-machine drive motors, pumps and fans worldwide. The technology covers induction motors (both 1-phase and 3-phase), permanent-magnet brushless motors, and line-start PM motors. Switched reluctance motors are also used in a few key applications. SPEED’s ability to characterize products and not just concepts is one its main assets in serving this sector. Improvements have been made in all programs in relation to machine geometry, loss calculations, drive control, and finite-element analysis.

Aerospace
High power-density, high speed and fault tolerance are key requirements in aerospace applications. SPEED has been used for many applications including actuators, pumps, and starter-generators, and we are “on” some of the most advanced electrically-equipped aircraft.
Brushless PM machines and switched reluctance machines are the main technologies. In both of these areas SPEED has new features improving the range of machine geometry, and the calculation of electromagnetic and thermal performance.

Industrial
SPEED is behind the design of some of the world’s most efficient AC variable-speed drives, using brushless SPM and IPM motor configurations. Not only in high-efficiency industrial drives, but also in precision servomotor systems. We’ve made special efforts to extend SPEED into generators, with a new embedded finite-element solver to cope with a wide variety of load specifications, and automatic calculation of generator characteristics for wound-field synchronous generators. We’ve added the doubly-fed induction machine to the range. Improvements in machine geometry, finite-element analysis, drive control, and thermal modeling have been achieved. SPEED’s technology covers all kinds of brushless PM machines, synchronous and switched reluctance machines, induction machines and DC machines. Axial-flux machines can also be calculated using a new addition to the SPEED system.