Realisation of a superconducting motor – RESUM

The superconducting motors and generators are a particularly attractive solution for electric propulsion and power generation. These superconducting devices allow to obtain power and torque and mass volume very high. In addition, the high efficiency of these machines makes them interesting in terms of energy saving. They create so much research. One of the goals is to find new structures of superconducting machine or optimize existing ones. One of the technical challenges c'set to find a way to transmit the torque created on the cold part of the rotor with the superconducting coil to the external device (motor or mechanical load) which is at room temperature: the problem is to minimize the heat losses which are very costly at low temperatures.

The structure proposed here uses two properties of superconductors. Superconductive coils with a high current density with respect to that of copper are used to create a magnetic field with a high radial component. Superconducting pellets which serve to screen the magnetic field, can spatially modulate the field created by the coils. Values proposed induction in the air gap is very high and contributes to the compactness of the machine. The proposed structure allows to consider the values of magnetic induction in the air gap twice that of conventional machines, this represents a technological breakthrough

We propose to realize a superconducting motor with a power of 100 kW at 300 rev / min based on this new structure. This is already the subject of three theses and level of maturity can consider building a high-power motor and thus validate the concept completely.

Three superconducting materials are currently at our disposal, the YBCO, BSCCO and the MgB2. These materials are used for both superconducting screens for the superconducting coils. One of the key points of this work is the design and manufacture of superconducting screen.

Furthermore, it is important to note that the solution of a superconducting actuator eliminates the "Rare Earth Magnets" and around a virtual monopoly and dependence