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According to a statistic from the University of Chicago, 50% of American energy goes through an engine. Vehicles such as cars and planes use motors to transform the current, as do household appliances such as vacuum cleaners and refrigerators. Because of the size of this space, the use of more efficient engines could have a significant impact on energy consumption.
When a motor operates to transform electrical energy into mechanical energy, an alternating current provides a magnetic field to the magnetic materials inside the motor. The magnetic dipoles then rock from north to south and turn the engine. This switching of magnetic materials causes it to heat up, losing energy.
But if the magnetic material did not heat up when it was spinning at high speed? Michael McHenry, professor of materials science and engineering (MSE) at Carnegie Mellon University, and his group are tackling this problem by synthesizing amorphous metal nanocomposite materials (MANC), a clbad of soft magnetic materials capable of transform the energy at high frequencies. smaller engines for comparable power.
"The power of an engine depends on its speed," said McHenry. "When you run a motor at high speed, the magnetic material switches to a higher frequency.Most of the magnetic steels, which make up most engines, lose power at higher frequencies because they heat up."
made of silicon steels. MANCs offer an alternative to silicon steels and, due to their high resistivity (resistance to electric current), they heat less and can run at much higher speeds.
"As a result, you can either reduce the size of the engine to a given power density, or create a larger power motor at the same size," said McHenry.
McHenry's group, in collaboration with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), NASA Glenn Research Center, and North Carolina State University, are designing a two-and-a-half-kilo engine that weighs less than two and a half pounds. In recent times, they have estimated at 6,000 rotations per minute and are looking to create larger ones that are turning even faster. The design, funded by the Ministry of Energy's advance manufacturing office, combines permanent magnets with MANC.
To synthesize MANC materials, McHenry and his team quickly solidify liquid metals at about a million degrees per second. Since they work at the laboratory scale, they examine 10 gram samples and control them for their magnetic properties. Through various partnerships with partner research institutes and industry, they can utilize these MANCs and develop the manufacturing process for use in real-world applications.
During the power transformation process in a conventional motor, the magnetization of the engine material switches, often resulting in a loss of power. But with the MANCs, the losses badociated with switching the magnetization are greatly reduced because it is a vitreous metal rather than a crystalline metal. The structural difference lies at the level of the atom: when the material is melted, then rapidly cooled, the atoms do not have time to find positions in a crystal lattice.
McHenry's group and his collaborators are among the few examples demonstrating the use of MANC in engines. Their design also uniquely uses their own patented materials – a combination of iron and cobalt, and iron and nickel, mixed with glbad jigs. Effective MANCs also allow the use of permanent magnets at lower cost, not requiring the use of rare earths, in engine design.
While researchers are testing in smaller scale at the laboratory scale, collaborations with industry companies and other research labs can turn these metals into scale for use in the field. 39; industry.
"With this model, we can eventually achieve higher speeds and power," McHenry said. "Right now, we're looking at a smaller engine, and then we're trying to build bigger ones. Engines have applications in aerospace, vehicles and even vacuum cleaners – engines are important in many applications. Overall, engines represent a huge use of electrical energy, making it an area where efficiency can make all the difference. "
Explore Further:
Magnetic materials increase energy density in power transformation
More information:
Satoru Simizu et al. High power high density bonded to soft magnetic material Amorphous metal nanocomposite, Rare earthless rotation machines, IEEE magnetic data transactions (2018). DOI: 10.1109 / TMAG.2018.2794390
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