Investigation of the design, manufacture and testing of additively manufactured coils for electric motor applications

Electric motor design has been relatively unchanged for nearly a century. However, there is a movement in our world to replace inefficient combustion technology with electricity. While current electric motor technology is being used in numerous areas, manufacturing has been limited to traditional techniques which result in inefficient and unreliable machines for achieving those electrification goals. As a result, there needs to be a shift in how these motors are manufactured and designed. Additive manufacturing (AM) can provide this shift, however, there has been both a lack of information on how to use AM to design for these applications and of electrical properties for AM materials processed by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF). This work helps to fill in some of this missing information. The first part of this work used DfAM and first principles to design coils which help achieve the goals of efficient, powerful and robust electric motors. It was demonstrated that AM can greatly increase the fill factor of a motor which increases its power density and efficiency. It can minimise the amount of support material required which aids in creating coils with AM. AM can also modify the end-turns of a coil to aid in thermal dissipation which further improves efficiency and reliability. Copper is a common material for electrical applications but has been very difficult to process with LPBF due to its high reflectivity and high thermal conductivity. Despite this, some have attempted to process copper but failed to provide any electrical properties such as resistivity. Despite a wide range of parameter optimisation, copper was not able to be processed in this work to a high density. Despite this, resistivity measurements with respect to initial build orientation and heat treatments were taken and found to be lower than fully dense AlSi10Mg. Artificial intelligence was also used to perform a secondary quality assessment of individual thin walls to aid in parameter optimisation. With the challenges of processing a high purity material to a high density, an aluminium alloy which can be processed to a high density was then studied. AlSi10Mg is an alloy commonly used by LPBF, however, there has been an incomplete body of knowledge surrounding its electrical properties. Previous research has neglected initial build orientations, variations that heat treatment can cause, and used techniques that assumed isotropic properties. In this work, experiments were performed to characterise these effects to electrical resistivity and microstructure. In addition, a geometric accuracy study was performed in order to understand the differences between model and as-built dimensions. The results from this work can be used as a guide to aid motor designers in using AM for electric motor manufacture. Through these improvements, electric motors can potentially become more powerful and reliable. They can then aid in global electrification and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Selected Papers from the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications

This Special Issue comprises selected papers from the proceedings of the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications, held on 15–30 November 2018, on sciforum.net, an online platform for hosting scholarly e-conferences and discussion groups. In this 5th edition of the electronic conference, contributors were invited to provide papers and presentations from the field of sensors and applications at large, resulting in a wide variety of excellent submissions and topic areas. Papers which attracted the most interest on the web or that provided a particularly innovative contribution were selected for publication in this collection. These peer-reviewed papers are published with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications. We hope this conference series will grow rapidly in the future and become recognized as a new way and venue by which to (electronically) present new developments related to the field of sensors and their applications

Investigation of the design, manufacture and testing of additively manufactured coils for electric motor applications

Electric motor design has been relatively unchanged for nearly a century. However, there is a movement in our world to replace inefficient combustion technology with electricity. While current electric motor technology is being used in numerous areas, manufacturing has been limited to traditional techniques which result in inefficient and unreliable machines for achieving those electrification goals. As a result, there needs to be a shift in how these motors are manufactured and designed. Additive manufacturing (AM) can provide this shift, however, there has been both a lack of information on how to use AM to design for these applications and of electrical properties for AM materials processed by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF). This work helps to fill in some of this missing information. The first part of this work used DfAM and first principles to design coils which help achieve the goals of efficient, powerful and robust electric motors. It was demonstrated that AM can greatly increase the fill factor of a motor which increases its power density and efficiency. It can minimise the amount of support material required which aids in creating coils with AM. AM can also modify the end-turns of a coil to aid in thermal dissipation which further improves efficiency and reliability. Copper is a common material for electrical applications but has been very difficult to process with LPBF due to its high reflectivity and high thermal conductivity. Despite this, some have attempted to process copper but failed to provide any electrical properties such as resistivity. Despite a wide range of parameter optimisation, copper was not able to be processed in this work to a high density. Despite this, resistivity measurements with respect to initial build orientation and heat treatments were taken and found to be lower than fully dense AlSi10Mg. Artificial intelligence was also used to perform a secondary quality assessment of individual thin walls to aid in parameter optimisation. With the challenges of processing a high purity material to a high density, an aluminium alloy which can be processed to a high density was then studied. AlSi10Mg is an alloy commonly used by LPBF, however, there has been an incomplete body of knowledge surrounding its electrical properties. Previous research has neglected initial build orientations, variations that heat treatment can cause, and used techniques that assumed isotropic properties. In this work, experiments were performed to characterise these effects to electrical resistivity and microstructure. In addition, a geometric accuracy study was performed in order to understand the differences between model and as-built dimensions. The results from this work can be used as a guide to aid motor designers in using AM for electric motor manufacture. Through these improvements, electric motors can potentially become more powerful and reliable. They can then aid in global electrification and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions

ReSCon '12, Research Student Conference: Book of Abstracts

The fifth SED Research Student Conference (ReSCon2012) was hosted over three days, 18-20 June 2012, in the Hamilton Centre at Brunel University. The conference consisted of 130 oral and 70 poster presentations, based on the high quality and diverse research being conducted within the School of Engineering and Design by postgraduate research students. The conference is held annually, and ReSCon plays a key role in contributing to research and innovations within the School

Proceedings of the 11th international conference on NDE in relation to structural integrity for nuclear and pressurized components

This Conference, the eleventh in a series on NDE in relation to structural integrity for nuclear and pressurized components, was held in Jeju Island, Korea, from 19th to 21st of May 2015. The scientific programme was co-produced by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport (EC-JRC/IET). Previous conferences were held in Amsterdam in October 1998, New Orleans in May 2000, Seville in November 2001, London in December 2004, San Diego in May 2006, Budapest in October 2007, Yokohama in May 2009, Berlin in September 2010, Seattle in May 2012, and Cannes in October 2013. All were highly successful in the quality and scope of the technical programs and the number of attendees from all countries with an interest in the structural integrity of nuclear and pressurized components. The overall objectives of the Conference were to provide an up-to-date assessment of the development and application of NDE and to allow technical interchange between experts on an international basis. The Conference covered all aspects of this extremely important subject, with special regard to the links between structural integrity requirements and NDE performance. The development of improved NDE systems and methods was highlighted. Determination of NDE performance by development of qualification systems or performance demonstration, and experience of their use in practice was prominently featured.JRC.F.5-Nuclear Reactor Safety Assessmen

Proceedings of the 11th international conference on NDE in relation to structural integrity for nuclear and pressurized components

This Conference, the eleventh in a series on NDE in relation to structural integrity for nuclear and pressurized components, was held in Jeju Island, Korea, from 19th to 21st of May 2015. The scientific programme was co-produced by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport (EC-JRC/IET). Previous conferences were held in Amsterdam in October 1998, New Orleans in May 2000, Seville in November 2001, London in December 2004, San Diego in May 2006, Budapest in October 2007, Yokohama in May 2009, Berlin in September 2010, Seattle in May 2012, and Cannes in October 2013. All were highly successful in the quality and scope of the technical programs and the number of attendees from all countries with an interest in the structural integrity of nuclear and pressurized components. The overall objectives of the Conference were to provide an up-to-date assessment of the development and application of NDE and to allow technical interchange between experts on an international basis. The Conference covered all aspects of this extremely important subject, with special regard to the links between structural integrity requirements and NDE performance. The development of improved NDE systems and methods was highlighted. Determination of NDE performance by development of qualification systems or performance demonstration, and experience of their use in practice was prominently featured.JRC.F.5-Nuclear Reactor Safety Assessmen

Acoustic and Elastic Waves: Recent Trends in Science and Engineering

The present Special Issue intends to explore new directions in the field of acoustics and ultrasonics. The interest includes, but is not limited to, the use of acoustic technology for condition monitoring of materials and structures. Topics of interest (among others): • Acoustic emission in materials and structures (without material limitation) • Innovative cases of ultrasonic inspection • Wave dispersion and waveguides • Monitoring of innovative materials • Seismic waves • Vibrations, damping and noise control • Combination of mechanical wave techniques with other types for structural health monitoring purposes. Experimental and numerical studies are welcome

Multiphase flow measurement using gamma-based techniques

The oil and gas industry need for high performing and low cost multiphase meters is ever more justified given the rapid depletion of conventional oil reserves. This has led oil companies to develop smaller/marginal fields and reservoirs in remote locations and deep offshore, thereby placing great demands for compact and more cost effective soluti8ons of on-line continuous multiphase flow measurement. The pattern recognition approach for clamp-on multiphase measurement employed in this research study provides one means for meeting this need. Cont/d