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The surprising future of superconducting motors: How will they revolutionize our energy world?
As the global demand for renewable energy continues to increase, superconducting motors have become a rising star in energy technology with their outstanding efficiency and performance. This motor system relies on the resistance-free properties of superconducting materials, which gives it distinct operational advantages over traditional motors. This article will explore the development history, current trends, and possible future changes of superconducting motors.
Basic Principles of Superconducting Motors
A superconducting motor is an electrical system that relies on one or more superconducting elements. Due to the zero resistance characteristics of superconducting materials in terms of DC resistance, superconducting motors generally exhibit higher efficiency. One of the most important parameters is their ability to generate extremely high magnetic fields, which is not possible with conventional motors. This feature leads to a significant reduction in the size of the motor, which means that its power density is greatly improved.
History Review
In 1831, Michael Faraday invented the homopolar motor, which marked the beginning of the history of electric motors. In 2005, General Atomics was awarded a contract to develop a large, low-speed superconducting homopolar motor for use in ship propulsion.
Superconducting homopolar generators are considered as pulse power sources for laser weapon systems. However, homopolar motors of the past have been challenging for most applications. In recent years, AC synchronous superconducting motors using high-temperature superconductors have gradually attracted the attention of the industry.
Current focus
Currently, interest in AC synchronous ceramic superconducting machines is focused on large machines such as generators for utility and marine power plants, and motors for ship propulsion. American Superconductor and Northrop Grumman have demonstrated a 36.5-megawatt ceramic superconducting ship propulsion motor, showing the potential of superconducting motors.
"The advent of superconducting generators has allowed the weight and volume of generators to be significantly reduced compared to direct-drive synchronous generators, which could have an impact on the cost of the entire wind turbine."
Advantages and Disadvantages of Superconducting Motors
Comparison with traditional conductor motors
Superconducting motors generally have the following advantages over conventional motors:
- Reduced resistive losses (rotor electromagnet only).
- Size and weight reduction at power capacity without considering cooling equipment.
However, they also face the following challenges:
- Cost, size, and complexity of cooling systems.
- Once a superconductor leaves its superconducting state, the operation of the motor or generator will suddenly drop or fail.
- Tendency for rotor speed to become unstable.
High temperature superconductors and low temperature superconductors
High-temperature superconductors superconduct at relatively readily available liquid nitrogen temperatures, which is more cost-effective than the commonly used liquid helium. However, ceramic superconductors are more fragile than traditional metal alloy superconductors such as niobium-titanium alloys, and cannot be formed into superconducting joints by bolts or welding, which may increase production costs.
Even so, ceramic superconductors can be driven out of their superconducting state more easily under pulsating magnetic fields, which could cause problems if there are sudden changes in load or supply.As superconducting motor technology matures, will we be able to witness their widespread use in daily life in the near future?
