Search Results (7)

In their applications in electrical machines, high-temperature superconductors (HTSs) are mainly used as inductors in synchronous machines due to the AC losses which can lead to high cryogenic costs. In this work, we show the possibility of their use as armature windings, handling some precautions. The approach is based on the combined use of modeling and measurements. The construction and the preliminary tests of a handmade prototype of an axial field HTS synchronous machine are presented. Several tests have been conducted at liquid nitrogen temperature. The measurements have been confirmed by modeling results. The preliminary tests on the prototype, in both modeling and measurements, are very promising. Full article

In line with global environmental regulations, the demand for eco-friendly and highly efficient aircraft propulsion systems is increasing. The combination of axial flux motors and superconductors could be a key technology used to address these needs. In this paper, an axial flux high temperature superconducting (HTS) motor for aircraft propulsion was designed and its characteristics were analyzed. A 2G HTS wire with high magnetic flux characteristic was used for the field winding of the 120 kW axial flux HTS motor, and the rotational speed and rated voltage of the motor were 2000 rpm and 220 V, respectively. The axial flux HTS motor implements a revolving armature type for solid cooling of the HTS field coil. The electromagnetic and thermal features of the motor were analyzed and designed utilizing a 3D finite element method program. The HTS coil was maintained at the target temperature by effectively designing the current lead and cooling system to minimize heat loss. These results can be effectively used in the design of propulsion systems for large commercial aircraft in the future as well as for the design of small aircraft with less than 4 seats. Full article

Currently, studies of flux switching machines are actively underway owing to several advantages of these machines, including their sturdy rotor structure and high output capability. This paper deals with an outer-rotor hybrid-excited flux-switching machine (FSM). The proposed machine embraces a homopolar structure and utilizes permanent magnets (PMs) for field excitation and a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coil for flux regulation. The stator houses the HTS field coil, PMs, and armature windings. The outer rotor consists solely of an iron core. Thus, the machines are cost effective and can serve as a solution to the design and fabrication complexities of field current supplying and cooling systems. In this paper, the machine performance outcomes are analyzed using the 3D finite element method (FEM), and the validity of the proposed machine is verified. Full article

This paper has proposed a high temperature superconducting (HTS) field-modulation double-stator (HTS-FMDS) machine with a stationary seal for low-speed and direct-drive applications. The originality of this paper lies in the HTS field-excitation windings, which were fed with a direct current in order to offer strong field excitation, were placed in the inner stator, while the armature windings were installed in the outer stator so that the stationary seal of the cryogenic cooling system could be achieved. Moreover, a ferromagnetic ring was mounted on the top of each HTS coil to prevent the quench of the HTS wires resulting from the armature-reaction magnetic-field. By using finite-element analysis (FEA), the influence of the armature-reaction magnetic-field on the critical current and the electromagnetic properties were carried out so as to verify the validity of the proposed machine. Full article

This article concentrates on the steady-state thermal characteristics of the Axial-Radial Flux-Type Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (ARFTPMSM). Firstly, the three-dimensional mathematical models for electromagnetic calculation and analyses are established, and the machine loss, including the stator loss, armature winding loss, rotor loss, and axial structure loss is calculated by using time-step Finite Element Method (FEM). Then, the loss distribution is assigned as the heat source for the thermal calculation. Secondly, the mathematical model for thermal calculation is also established. The assumptions and the boundary conditions are proposed to simplify the calculation and to improve convergence. Thirdly, the three-dimensional electromagnetic and thermal calculations of the machine, of which the armature winding and axial field winding are developed by using copper wires, are solved, from which the temperature distributions of the machine components are obtained. The experiments are carried out on the prototype with copper wires to validate the accuracy of the established models. Then, the temperature distributions of machine components under different Axial Magnetic Motive Force (AMMF) are investigated. Since the machine is finally developing by using HTS wires, the temperature distributions of machine developed by utilizing High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) wires, are also studied. The temperature distribution differences of the machine developed by using copper wires and HTS wires are drawn. All of these above will provide a helpful reference for the thermal calculation of the ARFTPMSM, as well as the design of the HTS coils and the cryogenic cooling system. Full article

Large electric superconducting machines are being sought to solve emissions challenges in aircraft and provide a solution to >12 MW wind turbine electricity generation. Superconducting motors with only high temperature superconducting (HTS) armatures can offer advantages of high reliability, high power density, and high efficiency compared with conventional superconducting motors. In this paper, a novel HTS squirrel-cage induction motor is proposed for high speed operation, which adopts the structure of HTS windings with a certain inclination angle in the stator slots. Due to the limitation of curvature radius of superconducting tapes, the pitch of HTS windings can be only set to 1 and adopt the short pitch arrangement structure, which such design details of the HTS motor would ensure the superconducting coils can undertake larger current and reduce AC losses. In order to keep the HTS windings in superconducting state and larger current density, a special fixed cryogenic cooling system below 70 K with the method of gas extraction and decompression, which is made of aramid fiber, has been fabricated and the whole structure of the stator is placed in liquid nitrogen. According to the motor control principles and electromagnetic field theory, the electrical performances of the novel designed stator-HTS motor, which driven by the variable-voltage variable-frequency (VVVF) inverter, are analyzed including the flux density distributions, the torque, the induced electromotive force, losses and efficiency by using the finite element method. Finally, the components of HTS squirrel-cage induction motor have been manufactured according to the designed parameters. Next step, the motor will be assembled and tested. Full article

This paper presents a design improvisation of a flux pump-integrated 10 kW high-temperature superconducting (HTS) proof of concept generator for reduced harmonic distortion. To carry out the design improvisation, a finite element analysis (FEA) model of the 10 kW HTS generator is developed, and time-stepped magnetic transient simulations are conducted on the 2D model. The effects of stator yoke material, winding pitch factors, and load configurations on total harmonic distortion (THD) are investigated. The results showed that fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) epoxy (G10) can be used as the stator yoke material to effectively avoid the hysteresis and eddy current losses. In addition, the study results show that for the non-conventional design of the machine, a winding pitch of 2/3 and the armature-load configuration of Star-Delta gives THD values within the standard limit defined by IEEE Standard 519-2014. The THD values indicate that the machine design configuration is suitable for the development of machines for both stand-alone and grid-connected operations, according to IEEE STD 519-2014. Full article