Adjustable Magnetic Yokes for Reversible Electromagnetic Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing reversible electrical machines for industrial applications, such as in terrestrial vehicles and aircrafts, face limitations in compactness, lightness, and flexibility due to fixed air-gaps between stator and rotor, leading to inefficiencies and difficulties in adjusting for optimal performance and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A reversible electromagnetic device with axially and radially adjustable magnetic yokes relative to the rotor, allowing for dynamic and static positioning adjustments to optimize efficiency, compensate for oscillations, and enable modular operation of generator and motor functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the air-gap between stator and rotor is fixed, then the device structure is simple and manufacturing is easier, but the efficiency and operating flexibility cannot be optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the air-gap adjustable rather than fixed. The magnetic yokes are mounted on supports that allow independent axial and radial adjustment, enabling the air-gap to be dynamically modified during operation or maintenance to optimize efficiency for different operating conditions while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
2Productivity
If the air-gap is made smaller to increase efficiency, then the efficiency improves, but the risk of rotor-stator contact increases and the device becomes more sensitive to oscillations
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable air-gap mechanism allows the system to dynamically adapt to rotor oscillations. When oscillations are detected or anticipated, the air-gap can be increased to prevent contact between rotor and stator, while during stable operation the air-gap can be minimized for maximum efficiency. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between efficiency and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates adjustment mechanisms that can be set beforehand to compensate for expected rotor oscillations and deformations. The magnetic yokes can be pre-positioned with appropriate clearance to accommodate thermal expansion and mechanical deformations during operation, preventing harmful contacts while maintaining optimal performance.
3Weight of moving object
If the device is designed for compactness and lightness, then the weight and volume are reduced, but the adjustment mechanisms become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the stator into multiple independent magnetic yokes, each mounted on its own adjustable support. This segmentation allows each yoke to be independently adjusted without affecting others, simplifying the adjustment mechanism for each individual component while maintaining overall device compactness. The modular approach enables weight reduction through selective material usage and optimized local designs.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the magnetic yokes are independently adjustable, then the operating flexibility and efficiency are optimized, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable magnetic yoke system serves multiple functions: it optimizes efficiency by adjusting the air-gap, compensates for thermal expansion and mechanical deformations, accommodates rotor oscillations, and enables different operating modes (generator/motor). This multi-functionality justifies the increased complexity by providing comprehensive operational flexibility and adaptability across various operating conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device achieves high efficiency, flexibility, and ease of assembly and maintenance by allowing adjustable air-gaps and independent operation of stator cells, enhancing performance in various applications, including turbines and propellers, while maintaining compactness and lightness.
Implementation Method 1
The stator comprises at least one set of magnetic yokes each having a pair of projecting arms extending towards the rotor and bearing a coil
Implementation Method 2
a magnetic yoke in the or each set is part, together with a pair of magnets confronting the yoke arms at a given instant and the air gap separating the yoke from the magnets, of a same closed magnetic circuit
Implementation Method 3
exploiting the motion of such member to generate electric energy for supplying other system components
Data Source
AI summary
An electromagnetic device has a stator and a rotor rotating between facing surfaces of the stator and bearing a plurality of magnets distributed at regular intervals along its periphery. The magnets are so arranged that they form a sequence of alternately opposite poles on the surfaces of the rotor directed towards the stator, and the stator comprises two sets of independently supported magnetic yokes located at both sides of the rotor in front of the magnets. The magnetic yokes have two axially oriented arms, the end surfaces of which, in static conditions of the rotor, at least partly face a pair of successive magnets on a same surface of the rotor.