Powering sea to space

Magnetic materials airs large limitations successful powerfulness physics applications astatine precocious frequencies, but MSE Professor Michael McHenry and alums Paul Ohodnicki, Alex Leary and Sam Kernion person made advancements connected materials and their processing that tin greatly summation centrifugal and transformer efficiencies.

Power electronics, similar motors, summation powerfulness done speed. The speed, however, requires the magnetic materials to power astatine a higher frequence and this causes magnetic (eddy current) loss. Magnetic losses enactment disconnected vigor and that vigor limits the motor's wide performance. So, reducing magnetic nonaccomplishment is pivotal successful paving the mode for smaller motors with higher power.

Extended disconnected of McHenry's award-winning probe utilizing cobalt-based metallic amorphous nanocomposite (MANC) materials, McHenry's squad recovered that strain annealing brushed magnetic amorphous ribbons nether hostility and past reannealing tin pb to arsenic overmuch arsenic a 50% magnetic nonaccomplishment simplification successful their recently patented Iron-Nickel-based MANCs. This nonaccomplishment simplification allows higher powerfulness densities to beryllium achieved successful their alloys, putting them successful enactment with the commercially disposable FINEMET alloy but with 1 cardinal advantage—the team's alloy is nonbrittle and truthful a much charismatic worldly for high-speed centrifugal applications.

Funded by the Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office, McHenry's squad successful collaboration with National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), NASA Glenn Research Center, and North Carolina State University has built a 2.5-kilowatt centrifugal prototype combining rare-earth escaped imperishable magnets with MANCs. The commercialization of this centrifugal could alteration the size and value of modular vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers, and different household appliances.

McHenry's squad is present looking to physique higher powerfulness motors arsenic they observed adjacent greater magnetic nonaccomplishment simplification successful larger radius magnetic cores—those applicable to centrifugal conveyance technologies. With this application, McHenry's alloys could 1 time beryllium utilized successful Naval submarines oregon NASA spaceships. With costs arsenic precocious arsenic $10,000/pound to enactment worldly into space, reducing the size of a motor portion maintaining comparable powerfulness would person a drastic impact.

McHenry's squad volition beryllium capable to process their alloys connected a commercialized standard astatine their Pittsburgh-based startup, CorePower Magnetics to bring their high-performance powerfulness physics components to market.

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