Search Results (33)

In this study, real-scale high-temperature superconducting (HTS) field coils for a 10 MW class rotating machine were designed, fabricated, and experimentally evaluated. The aim was to propose a cost-effective winding strategy by combining two types of HTS wires with different angular dependencies of critical current. The 3D FEM simulations were performed to determine the coil layout by considering the magnetic field magnitude and incidence angle. Based on this design, two HTS field coils were fabricated, one wound with two different types of wire and the other with a single wire type. For application to an actual HTS generator, the coil was equipped with an iron core to evaluate its influence on critical current and magnetic field distribution. Experimental results at 77 K showed that the coil combined with two types of HTS wire achieved 112 A without the core and 105 A with the core, while the single-wire coil reached 101 A and 93 A, respectively. The measured results showed good agreement with the simulations, with deviations within 3.7% for the combined-wire coil and 1.9% for the coil equipped with the iron core. These findings indicate that the proposed winding method can maintain high performance while lowering material cost, providing useful guidelines for the design of large-scale HTS rotating machines. Full article

During the winding process of a coil winding machine, excessive tension can cause wire deformation, over-stretching, or breakage, while insufficient tension may lead to slackness, accumulation, and wrinkling. The magnitude of winding tension directly affects product quality and operational performance. This paper addresses the challenges of inadequate constant-tension control accuracy and excessive fluctuations in the unwind system of winding machines under disturbances. By integrating specific operational scenarios, a fuzzy PID control strategy suitable for actual production environments is designed. Based on an established coupling model relating unwind tension to roll diameter, unwind speed, and moment of inertia, conventional PID and fuzzy PID control simulation models are developed in the MATLAB/Simulink platform. These models evaluate both control strategies under noise disturbances and abrupt tension changes. A systematic comparative analysis examines the dynamic response characteristics, steady-state accuracy, and anti-interference capabilities. Results demonstrate that the fuzzy PID control, integrated with actual winding machine conditions, effectively suppresses tension fluctuations induced by nonlinear disturbances, reducing adjustment time by 3 s compared to conventional PID control. This indicates that the production-condition-integrated fuzzy PID control exhibits smaller overshoot, enhanced robustness, and superior dynamic response and better meets precision requirements for wire winding tension control. Full article

Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) enables efficient, contactless charging for mobile devices by eliminating mechanical connectors and wiring, thereby enhancing user experience and device longevity. However, conventional WPT systems remain prone to performance issues such as coil misalignment, resonance instability, and thermal losses. Addressing these challenges involves designing coil geometries that operate at lower resonant frequencies to strengthen magnetic coupling and decrease resistance. This work introduces a WPT system with a performance-driven coil design aimed at maximizing magnetic coupling and mutual inductance between the transmitting (Tx) and receiving (Rx) coils in mobile devices. Due to the nonlinear behavior of magnetic flux and the high computational cost of simulations, exploring the full design space for coils using ANSYS Maxwell becomes impractical. To address this complexity, a machine learning (ML)-based optimization framework is developed to efficiently navigate the design space. The framework integrates a hybrid sequential neural network and multivariate regression model to optimize coil winding and ferrite core geometry. The optimized structure achieves a mutual inductance of 12.52 $\mu$H with a conventional core, outperforming many existing ML models. Finite element simulations and experimental results validate the robustness of the method, which offers a scalable solution for efficient wireless charging in compact, misalignment-prone environments. Full article

In slotless machines, the winding conductors are exposed to the magnetic air gap field, which causes additional eddy current losses, thus decreasing efficiency and affecting thermal utilization. This is the case, inter alia, for axial flux motors equipped with printed circuit board windings, where the winding is made of copper–fiberglass epoxy laminations and located in the air gap. The dominant influencing factors are primarily the width of the conducting tracks and the magnetic air gap flux density and frequency. The evaluation time is a crucial constraint when calculating thousands of different designs for design space exploration or performing multi-objective optimizations. Finite element simulations can achieve very precise results, but unlike semi-analytical approximation functions, they are very time-consuming and therefore not the method of choice for design space exploration. This publication provides a comprehensive overview of a selection of different eddy current loss calculation techniques that are applicable for rectangular tracks and round wire windings. A comparison of the calculated results for a finite element simulation is presented for a slotless axial flux machine with printed circuit board windings and rectangular tracks. The calculation time consumed is also compared. The current density distribution of planar conductors of air gap windings differs from that in electrical steel sheets. In contrast to the methods based on steel sheets, only the adapted methods for conductors in air gaps offer acceptable accuracy. A recommendation is provided for the method that offers the best balance between accuracy and computation time for the early-stage design of slotless axial flux machines. Full article

This paper presents the issues related to aging studies of electrical insulation in winding wires, which are widely used in electrical machines. Insulating materials in electrical machines are subjected to various stress factors, particularly electrical stress. The proper design of such insulation systems requires an understanding of the behavior of individual system components under specific operating conditions. This knowledge enables the optimization of insulation design, which can contribute to extending the operational lifespan of electrical machines. In this study, the results of experimental investigations on twisted-pair winding wires with different geometric dimensions, subjected to electrical stress (a square voltage waveform in the kilohertz frequency range) under different pressure conditions, are presented. The experimental research is supplemented by simulation-based calculations of the electric field intensity in the examined twisted-pair winding wire samples. Full article

Switched Reluctance Motors (SRMs), Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs), and induction motors may experience failures due to insulation-related breakdowns. The SRM rotor is of a non-salient nature and made of solid steel material. There are no windings on the rotor. However, the stator is composed of windings that are intricately insulated from each other using materials such as enamel wire, polymer films, mica tapes, epoxy resin, varnishes, or insulating tapes. The dielectric strength of the insulation may fail over time due to several environmental factors and processes. Dielectric breakdown of the winding insulation can be caused by rapid switching of the winding current, the presence of contaminants, and thermal aging. For reliable and efficient operation of the SRMs and other electrical machines, it is necessary to take into account the physics of the winding insulation and perform appropriate diagnostics and estimations that can monitor the integrity of the insulation. This article presents the estimation problem using a Genetic Algorithm (GA)-optimized Random Forest Regressor. Empirical properties and measurable quantities in the historical data are utilized to derive temperature and leakage current estimation. The developed model is then combined with a moving average function to increase the accuracy of prediction of the stator winding temperature and leakage current. The performance of the model is compared with that of the Feedforward Neural Network and Long Short-Term Memory over the same winding temperature and leakage current historical data. The performance metrics are based on computation of the Mean Square Error and Mean Absolute Error. Full article

In the process of producing winding coils for power transformers, it is necessary to detect the tilt angle of the winding, which is one of the important parameters that affects the physical performance indicators of the transformer. The current detection method is manual measurement using a contact angle ruler, which is not only time-consuming but also has large errors. To solve this problem, this paper adopts a contactless measurement method based on machine vision technology. Firstly, this method uses a camera to take pictures of the winding image and performs a 0° correction and preprocessing on the image, using the OTSU method for binarization. An image self-segmentation and splicing method is proposed to obtain a single-wire image and perform skeleton extraction. Secondly, this paper compares three angle detection methods: the improved interval rotation projection method, quadratic iterative least squares method, and Hough transform method and through experimental analysis, compares their accuracy and operating speed. The experimental results show that the Hough transform method has the fastest operating speed and can complete detection in an average of only 0.1 s, while the interval rotation projection method has the highest accuracy, with a maximum error of less than 0.15°. Finally, this paper designs and implements visualization detection software, which can replace manual detection work and has a high accuracy and operating speed. Full article

The surge in electric vehicles (EVs) and their electrical appliances requires highly efficient, lightweight electrical machines with better performance. However, conventional wire used for electrical machine windings have certain limits to the current requirements. Copper is a commonly used material in electrical windings, and due to its ohmic resistance, it causes 75% of total losses in electrical machines (copper losses). The high mass of the copper results in a bulky system size, and the winding temperature of copper is always maintained at less than 150 °C to preserve the thermal insulation of the electric machine of the windings. On the other hand, carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube materials have superior electrical conductivity properties and mechanical properties. Carbon nanotubes ensure 100 MS/m of electrical conductivity, which is higher than the copper electrical conductivity of 59.6 MS/m. In the literature, various carbon nanotubes have been studied based on electrical conductivity, temperature co-efficient with resistivity, material thickness and strength, insulation, and efficiency of the materials. Here, we review the electrical and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes, and carbon nanotube composite materials are reviewed with copper windings for electrical wires. Full article

Despite major progress in the design of power transformers, the Achilles’ heel remains the insulation system, which is affected by various parameters including moisture, heat, and vibrations. These important machines require extreme reliability to guarantee electricity distribution to end users. In this contribution, a fiber optic sensor (FOS), consisting of a Fabry–Perot cavity made up of two identical fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), is proposed, to monitor the temperature and vibration of power transformer windings. A phase shifted gratings recoated sensor, with multilayers of polyimide films, is used to monitor the moisture content in oil. The feasibility is investigated using an experimental laboratory transformer model, especially fabricated for this application. The moisture contents are well correlated with those measured by a Karl Fisher titrator, while the values of temperature compare well with those recorded from thermocouples. It is also shown that the sensors can be used to concurrently detect vibration, as assessed by sensitivity to the loading current. The possibility of dynamically measuring humidity, vibrations, and temperatures right next to the winding, appears to be a new insight that was previously unavailable. This approach, with its triple ability, can help to reduce the required number of sensors and therefore simplify the wiring layout. Full article

A voice coil motor is a type of permanent magnet linear motor, which is based on the Ampere force theorem. It has the following advantages: a simple structure, a small size, no cogging force, and a fast response time. In this study, a voice coil motor was designed to provide x-directional thrust in the magnetically levitated cable table of a lithography machine. The voice coil motor designed in this study was based on the Halbach permanent magnet array, and adopted a single-sided, coreless, flat-type structure. First, the magnetic field distribution was analyzed based on the magnetic charge method to obtain an expression for the magnetic field and the thrust. The results of this analysis agreed very well with the finite element simulation results. Next, the main parameters of the motor, including the number of turns made by the coil, the size of the wire, and the size of the permanent magnets, were selected and optimized to increase the force density. Finally, two double-layer, serpentine waterway water-cooling plate configurations were designed for this voice coil motor. The validity of this water-cooling structure was verified for two different winding equivalent models. This provided feasibility to further upgrade the windings’ current density. Full article

Aiming at the problems of low efficiency and low accuracy in manual detection of winding angle and wire spacing during automatic winding of high-voltage primary coils of transmission and distribution transformers, a detection scheme using machine vision is proposed. Firstly, the coil image is acquired by the industrial camera, the detection region is segmented, and the ROI (region of interest) image is pre-processed. For winding angle detection, we propose a slicing method for image graying to reduce the interference caused by uneven light irradiation. The gray image is converted to a binary image, and wire skeleton extraction is performed; the skeleton is identified using the Hough transform for feature straight lines, and the winding angle is then calculated. For wire spacing detection, we propose an intersection of the perpendicular lines method, which extracts edge coordinates using contour images and performs endpoint pixel expansion and shape classification. Use the intersection of the vertical lines to determine the centroid coordinates of the wire outline, calculate the pixel distance of the adjacent centroid, and obtain the wire spacing by combining pixel calibration. Comparison experiments have shown that the solution has a high detection accuracy (0.01 mm), and the error of the integrated detection results is not higher than 10%, which enables the real-time detection of coil winding status and corrects the winding process according to the visual real-time detection result to improve the finished product quality of coils. Full article

Due to the significant advantages of a high torque density, better fault tolerance and high efficiency, the combined star–pentagon winding has recently gained researchers’ interest. In this paper, a simple method to identify the sequence of phases of a five-phase machine with combined star–pentagon winding was proposed. This was accomplished using resistance measurements between adjacent and non-adjacent phases. The analysis was conducted to clarify the phase sequence identification method. A case study of a 5.5 kW five-phase synchronous reluctance motor with combined star–pentagon winding was considered to simply apply the proposed method using an LCR meter for resistance measurements. The parasitic and wire resistances are dominant in the studied case, and this did not influence the accuracy of this method. Full article

The option of wireless energy transmission in electric vehicles can become the main market driver for electric vehicles due to its distinct advantages, such as range, weight, or costs, over conventional conductive charging solutions. In addition to the great potential, which different research work and realized systems have already shown, there are new requirements for the associated production networks in the automotive industry which must be addressed at an early stage. Furthermore, no solutions currently exist for the industrial production of these components. This paper presents the main components for the feasibility of wireless power transmission in electric vehicles. In addition, the required value chains and processes for the new components of the inductive power transfer systems, and the final assembly for induction coils, which has been developed at the FAU, will be presented. These include the developing of a winding process on a 15-axis special machine, ultrasonic crimping of the litz wire ends, and vacuum potting. Full article

Wire rope manufacturing is an old industry that maintains its place in the market due to the need for products with specific characteristics in different sectors. The necessity for modernization and performance improvement in this industry, where there is still a high amount of labor dedicated to internal logistics operations, led to the development of a new technology method, to overcome uncertainties related to human behaviour and fatigue. The removal of successive yarn coils from a twisting and winding machine, as well as cutting the yarn and connecting the other end to the shaft in order to proceed with the process, constitutes the main problem. As such, a mobile automatic system was created for this process, due to its automation potential, with a project considering the design of a 3D model. This novel robotic manipulator increased the useful production time and decreased the winding coil removal cycle time, resulting in a more competitive, fully automated product with the same quality. This system has led to better productivity and reliability of the manufacturing process, eliminating manual labor and its cost, as in previously developed works in other industries. Full article

AC copper loss from stator winding is one of the main losses of the high-speed permanent magnet machines (HSPMMs) and directly affects the performance of the machines. AC copper losses are influenced by many factors, including the frequency, conductor diameter, temperature performance, etc. These factors cause the AC losses to increase significantly at high frequencies due to the skin effect and proximity effect. In this paper, a comprehensive analysis of the AC copper losses of HSPMMs with round copper wire windings is presented. Firstly, the structure and parameters of a 60 kW, 30,000 rpm high-speed permanent magnet machine are provided. Then, based on this parameter, a 2D-finite element model (2D-FEM) is established to obtain the AC copper loss. Through the eddy-current field analysis, the current density distribution of the stator winding and the variation trends of AC copper losses under different frequencies are observed. In addition, by comparing the winding current density distribution and the AC copper loss value under different conditions, the influencing factors of AC winding losses are comprehensively analyzed, including the frequency, conductor diameter, number of conductors per slot, notch height of the stator slot, and working temperature. Finally, four stator coil cases are manufactured, which have different conductor diameters and wire strands. The AC losses of the four cases at different frequencies are tested, and the theoretical results are verified by measuring the AC/DC loss ratios (k_ac) of different conductor cases at various frequencies. Full article