Design of a Linear Bulk Superconductor Magnet Synchronous Motor for Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems

Abstract

Abstract-High-temperature superconducting (HTS) material in bulk form is used to design a linear synchronous motor for an electromagnetic aircraft launch system. The motor is designed without an iron core. Stator coils are placed in the air while the permanent magnets used in conventional design of linear permanent magnet synchronous motors are replaced by the HTS bulk magnets. The physical, operational, and equivalent circuit parameters of the linear motor with HTS bulk magnets are compared with those of a linear permanent magnet synchronous motor and linear induction motor designed for the same application. Results show that utilizing superconducting magnets is only superior at temperatures below 40 K.

Superconducting Electromagnetic Launch System for Civil Aircraft

“…Non-conventional HTS machines are recognized to offer some advantageous features like decrease in ac losses and consequent higher efficiency even accounting for cryocooler input power. To date, several Superconducting Linear Synchronous Motors (SCLSMs) that use bulk HTS on the machine's secondary have been proposed for military EML to produce the propulsion force [5], [6] Fig. 2 Cross section of the MgB2 wires from Columbus Superconductor [7] field [8].…”

Superconducting and conventional electromagnetic launch system for civil aircraft assisted take-off

“…A linear induction motor (LIM), a linear permanent magnet synchronous motor (LPMSM) and a superconducting linear synchronous motor (SCLSM) design have been compared for military EML systems in [3]. Stumberger considered only two possible stator windings distributions with either 1 or 0.5 phase per pole as viable design solutions for LPMSM.…”

“…The distribution algorithm in [4] will be adopted to select the winding sequence that produces the highest performance for a given number of slots and poles. The secondary of the LIM in [3] is made out of copper while aluminum can be exploited slightly reducing the electromagnetic performance, but significantly decreasing the mover weight to obtain the maximum kinetic energy transfer to the aircraft. The bulk YBCO superconducting material for SCLSM in [3], is replaced by magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) superconducting coils.…”

“…The secondary of the LIM in [3] is made out of copper while aluminum can be exploited slightly reducing the electromagnetic performance, but significantly decreasing the mover weight to obtain the maximum kinetic energy transfer to the aircraft. The bulk YBCO superconducting material for SCLSM in [3], is replaced by magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) superconducting coils. MgB 2 has a relatively low transition temperature (39 K) with respect to other high temperature superconducting materials, but Stumberger in [3] concluded that YBCO are not suitable for EML launch unless the temperature is reduced to 40 K. MgB 2 was selected for its better mechanical properties, lower bending radius, round cable availability and lower cost.…”

Magnetic Field of Tubular Linear Machines With Dual Halbach Array

“…It has wide applications in aeronautics [1,2], transportation [3,4], medical devices [5,6] and so on. High flux density in linear machines is extremely important for high-force required applications.…”