David Inácio

Disc Motor: Conventional and Superconductor Simulated Results Analysis

Taking into consideration the development and integration of electrical machines with lower dimensions and higher performance, this paper presents the design and development of a three-phase axial flux disc motor, with 50 Hz frequency supply. It is made with two conventional semi-stators and a rotor, which can be implemented with a conventional aluminum disc or a high temperature-superconducting disc. The analysis of the motor characteristics is done with a 2D commercial finite elements package, being the modeling performed as a linear motor. The obtained results allow concluding that the superconductor motor provides a higher force than the conventional one. The conventional disc motor presents an asynchronous behavior, like a conventional induction motor, while the superconductor motor presents both synchronous and asynchronous behaviors.

Disc Motor with Rotor Made of Aluminium or Polycrystalline High Temperature Superconductor

The discovery of the superconductivity and the understanding of electromagnetic properties of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials allowed the optimization and development of several applications, such as electrical machines and drives. Electromechanical conversion devices based in HTS materials potentially allows for reduction in devices dimensions or performance improvement for the same active volume, when compared with their conventional ones.An axial disc motor with high temperature superconductor (HTS) material or conventional aluminium in the rotor and conventional armature has been designed and developed. This paper describes simulations and laboratory experiments performed at liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K) in order to analyze the motor’s behaviour and its electromechanical characteristics and to define an electric equivalent circuit that allows describing its operation. From the obtained results it was observed that the tested HTS behaves as a conventional hysteresis motor even though with a different nature. On the other hand, the motor with aluminium rotor behaves as a conventional induction motor. In asynchronous regime, the HTS motor exhibits a constant torque, higher than the conventional aluminium one.

Experimental Magnetic Field Mapping of a Polycrystalline Superconducting YBCO Disc for an Axial Flux Motor

The method of creating large and complex-shaped melt-textured YBCO bulks based in artificial welding seeds opens the door to the study of applications with polycrystalline superconductor samples. In order to evaluate the superconducting quality of the bulks, Hall probe mapping can be applied in order to measure trapped flux field profiles after magnetisation. This paper describes the magnetic field mapping of an axial flux motor with a polycrystalline high temperature superconductor (YBCO) disc rotor at liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K). An axial flux hall probe is used and magnetic field profiles have been obtained for different polar configurations of a three-phase stator winding which will be operated at 50Hz. After the magnetization of the HTS disc trapped flux is measured, and its magnitude depends on the polar configuration and magnitude of the applied field.

Study of an axial flux disc motor with superconductor rotor

The integration of high temperature superconductors (HTS) in electrical machines potentially allows reduction in devices dimensions or performance improvement for the same active volume, when compared with their conventional ones. The use of polycrystalline HTS samples allows big bulk samples. An axial disc motor with HTS material or conventional aluminium in the rotor and conventional armature has been designed and developed. This paper describes simulations and laboratory experiments performed at liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K) in order to analyze the motors behaviour and its electromechanical characteristics and to define an electric equivalent circuit that allows describing its operation. In order to evaluate the superconducting quality of the bulks and flux pinning phenomena, Hall probe mapping system was performed in order to define the field profiles at 77 K for different polar configurations. The analysis of the obtained results allows confirm the flux pinning phenomena, being the entire rotor magnetized and conclude that the motor with the HTS rotor behaves as a conventional hysteresis motor even though with a different nature, while the motor with aluminium rotor behaves as a conventional induction motor. In asynchronous regime, the HTS motor exhibits a constant torque, higher than the conventional aluminium one. For both cases, the developed torque is proportional to the poles pairs.

Preliminary Studies and Test Results of a Superconducting Hysteresis Motor with Multiphase Windings and Variable Number of Magnetic Poles

In this paper a procedure for determining the number of different synchronous speeds that can be obtained from the stator of a drum motor as a function of the number of slots is presented. This preliminary study is foreseen for a hysteresis high-temperature superconducting motor, but the approach is directly applied in conventional motors. The targeted device has multiphase windings, in order to achieve full flexibility in torque-speed space through electronic variation of magnetic poles. Simulations are performed in order to achieve a qualitative understanding of the behaviour of the motor, namely in what concerns to torque and settling times from initial to synchronous speed. A prototype with eighteen slots in the stator and a bulk YBCO rotor is described and built, and experimental values of torque are obtained.

Axial Disc Motor Experimental Analysis Based in Steinmetz Parameters

Nowadays an economical and environment crisis is felt in the world due to the increasing fuel prices and high CO2 emissions. This crisis is mostly due to present the transportation system, which uses internal combustion engines. The development and integration of electrical motors with improved electro mechanical characteristics, using high temperature superconductors, can provide a sustainable future replacing the conventional internal combustion motors.

A Fractional Power Disk Shaped Motor with Superconducting Armature

A disk-shaped, double stator, induction motor with High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) field coils is proposed in this paper. Copper, typically used in windings of classic machines, limits current density allowed in field coils due to Joule effect losses. Also iron, which is used in magnetic circuits, limits the magnetic flux density obtained in the air gap due to saturation. The application of HTS field coils and iron removal effect in fractional power disk shaped or axial flux motors is analyzed by comparison of two different stator topologies. Twelve HTS field coils made of Bi-2223 (Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10) first generation tape, wrapped around a racetrack-shaped nylon core, are assembled. A simple topology was chosen, consisting of six filed coils per semi-stator arranged in the same plane with 60 o displacement. This topology is analyzed theoretically, based on a linear induction motor approach and simulated using a commercial finite elements program, based on the same approach. In order to study the effect of magnetic saturation two stators were built. In the first, the field coils are assembled in steel plates. In the second, the same coils are assembled on nylon plates. The rotor is composed of an aluminum disk assembled on a stainless steel shaft. The HTS coils were cooled by liquid nitrogen (77 K). Simulations, experimental and theoretical results are consistent, showing high space harmonic distortion for the chosen topologies. It is shown that for this type of low power motors operating at this temperature, as iron saturation is not achieved, ferromagnetic materials removal is not a good option. Besides, flux leakage is to high, degrading developed torque.