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DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office Project, DE-EE0007867, ?Amorphous and Nanocomposite Magnets for High Efficiency, High Speed Motor Designs? assembled a team from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pittsburgh, PA, Michael E. McHenry, PI
North Carolina State University (NCSU), Raleigh, NC, Subhashish Bhattacharya, co-I and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Paul Ohodnicki, Investigator who teamed with Industrial collaborators, Chris Horn, Fort Wayne Metals, Fort Wayne, Indiana and Eric Theisen, Metglas, Conway, South Carolina. <
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The project developed metal amorphous nanocomposite (MANC) soft magnetic materials (SMMs) for a rare earth (RE)-free 2.5 kW motor with 4% increased efficiency. The Project modeled RE-free motor topologies. The project outcomes addressed:<
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(a) metal to alloy processing & magnet core production
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(b) soft magnetic laminate & core post-processing
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(c) producing a 2.5 kW motor extending to TRL-5.<
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The project technical components encompassed:<
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(1) Model motor designs for MANCs to identify a suitable prototype
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(2) Lab scale rapid solidification and post-processing (RSP) to produce magnet cores
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(3) Post processing into rotor and stator components
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(4) Develop winding techniques for use in new topologies,<
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(5) Incorporate state of the art motor controllers.<
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(6) Model loss partitioning between controller, Cu, Fe & windings in 2.5 kW motor. <
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High power density motors incur high loss in the SMMs due to high rotational speed and/or high pole counts. MANCs have been proven to havelow power loss at high switching frequency and relatively high flux density (>
1.3 T). We designed a flux switching with permanent magnet (FSWPM) motor with a rating of 2.5 kW at 1400 Hz electrical speed by incorporating low loss (<
10 W/kg at 1 kHz) FeNi-based MANCs. The design required 2 kg of SMM. Power loss with this MANC SMM is less than 10 W at the rated power. The FSWPM motor design uses non-rare earth (ferrite) permanent magnets to address concerns of rare earth, RE, criticality. For ease of MANC incorporation, an axial flux design rotor manufactured from a wound ribbon core was demonstrated. The axial flux motor consists of a rotor made of MANCs with multiple salient poles over a 3-phase, 12 slot stator incorporating 12 permanent magnets. A dual stator design and manufacturing steps for rotor, stator and windings were demonstrated. <
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A prototype motor was built from components and driven on a control system that had been developed for a permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM). Our flux switching permanent magnet (FSPM) machine generates nearly sinusoidal back-emf was driven successfully. Reliable control was limited to low speeds. The prototype motor goes through 14 electrical cycles for a single mechanical rotation and requires a higher level of spatial resolution. These problems are left for future work to improve encoder resolution and stability and overall mechanical stiffness of the rotor/hub assembly. We performed numerical FEA analysis of the loss partitioning. This reflects refinement of the SMM and copper loss analysis taking into account new optimally processed FeNi-based MANC ribbons, and their post-processing for motor components. <
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Project technology transitions included transition of casting technologies to Fort Wayne Metals (FWM) in Budget Period Two (BP2) and alloys to Metglas in Budget Period Three (BP3) through a Research Use License. Carpenter Technologies separately built planar flow casting (PFC) facilities with 3? wide ribbon capability and employs CMU Ph.d Natan Aronhime, co-Inventor on the CMU FeNi-based MANC patents used in this Project. These transitions expand a commercial casting supply chain. High power motors studied may benefit hybrid electric vehicles in new DOE VTO funded research. <
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The project has had made significant contributions to workforce training and development. In addition to Natan Aronhime, Carpenter funded the CMU Ph.d student Yuval Krimer on alloys with increased glass forming ability and larger induction compositions (co-Inventor on a CMU FeNi-based MANC utility patent). Yuval defended his CMU Ph.d thesis in May 2021. Kevin Byerly, formerly of NETL, and Satoru Simizu are now employed by CMU contributing to the new DOE VTO motor project. FWM, Carpenter and Metglas are included in future commercialization plans. Metglas under a research use agreement (RULA) cast CMU patented Fe-Ni-based MANC ribbons for use in motor construction. The RULA was extended in March 2021 reflecting Metglas? partnership in an ongoing DOE VTO Program. <
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Metglas has cast 1? and 2? wide amorphous metal ribbon (AMR) provided to CMU for core winding and vacuum impregnation bonding in the motor manufacturing steps described herein. Impregnated cores were fabricated into rotor and stator components by waterjet cutting contracted to OMAX. Ferrite permanent magnets were machined to specifications of the FSWPM design by Integrated Magnetics, Inc. (IMI) (Culver City, CA).. Spang Engineered Systems (SES) produced windings to a design developed as part of this project. <
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The Univ. of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon Univ. and North Carolina State Univ. formed a Consortium: Advanced Magnetics for Power and Energy Development (AMPED). The AMPED consortium is a university-based initiative seeking to address needs for the workforce of the future in the emerging field of power magnetics, by establishing an innovation ecosystem with educational programs for advancing soft magnetic materials and component technologies spanning fundamental science to end-use application in collaboration with industry and lab partners. The AMPED consortium will serve as an advisory body to assess future makets and industrial needs. Founding participants in AMPED are listed at https://pittamped.github.io/Founding-Participants.html FWM and Carpenter attended initial AMPED meetings and have been asked to contribute to the AMPED consortium. Metglas has joined as an AMPED partner. Eaton is an AMPED partner and CMU is a subcontractor on an Eaton NGEM 2 project. <
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CMU has licensed MANC intellectual property to CorePower Magnetics https://www.corepowermagnetics.com. CorePower Magnetics is bringing high performance power electronics components to market, building on SMM technologies invented at CMU. Finished components operate with increased temperature stability in smaller, lighter packages, in applications such as inductors, transformers and electric motors. Corepower co-founders include Michael McHenry, Paul Ohodnicki and Kevin Byerly who have been involved in this and other DOE funded programs. Licensing of CMU SMM technologies through CorePower will provide avenues for further commercialization. CorePower is also participating in other government funded programs to extend application of CMU materials.<
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