Kiyoshi Aizawa

Development of 1 MW-class HTS motor for podded ship propulsion system

To reduce fuel consumption and lead to a major reduction of pollution from NOx, SOx and CO2, the electric ship propulsion system is one of the most prospective substitutes for conventional ship propulsion systems. In order to spread it, innovative technologies for the improvement of the power transmission are required. The high temperature superconducting technology has the possibility for a drastic reduction of power transmission loss. Recently, electric podded propulsions have become popular for large cruise vessels, icebreakers and chemical tankers because of the flexibility of the equipment arrangement and the stern hull design, and better maneuverability in harbour, etc. In this paper, a 1 MW-class High temperature superconducting (HTS) motor with high efficiency, smaller size and simple structure, which is designed and manufactured for podded propulsion, is reported. For the case of a coastal ship driven by the optimized podded propulsion in which the 1MW HTS motor is equipped, the reductions of fluid dynamic resistance and power transmission losses are demonstrated. The present research & development has been supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

Development of helium transfer coupling of 1 MW-class HTS motor for podded ship propulsion system

Research and development of 1 MW superconducting motor are being made aiming at the efficiency improvement for the podded type ship propulsion. The basic machine configuration is similar to steam turbine generators, having a rotating horizontal shaft. As for the motor composed of rotating superconducting field, one of the most critical issues is to provide a technically viable helium transfer coupling (HTC). The field winding of 1 MW motor is cooled with cryogenic helium gas. The HTC needs to supply the cryogenic helium gas with an appropriate flow rate from the stationary part to the rotating field winding region through a hollowed shaft in order not to lose superconducting state of the winding. A full size prototype of HTC was developed prior to the actual one to demonstrate its technical acceptability. The fundamental data with regard to the supply of the refrigerated helium gas were successfully obtained at the rated speed. This work has been supported by New Energy, and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).