Resumen:
This paper describes an algebraic model for predicting the air flow-rate in the cooling system of an open self-ventilated machine. The method is easily applicable to any type of air-cooled electrical machine. The air flow-rates in different areas of the machine as well as the head losses of the hydraulic system were obtained, and the results were compared with a more detailed model developed with Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) techniques. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to compare the different topologies of the machine studied