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The design and development of the Advanced Propulsion Motor made huge steps forward in 2009. This ground-breaking motor design employs two main techniques to increase the power density of the motor.
Firstly, liquid cooling of the rotor, stator and the exciter has been developed, which enables much greater cooling effect than air and hence we can utilize higher currents in smaller motor components.
Secondly, the power electronics normally associated with a standalone variable speed drive have been incorporated within the motor and are also liquid-cooled. Incorporating the power switching devices with the motor also reduces the overall system size.
The machine is fed with DC current and the variable speed rotating magnetic field needed to turn the motor at the desired speed is generated in the motor itself. Of particular importance is the fact that the lack of high frequency switching, the removal of the cooling air circuit and careful design makes this an ultra quiet machine suitable for specialist applications.
The demonstration motor is now being assembled and will be tested in 2010. Combining this technology with a DC Architecture system is predicted to reduce equipment size and cabling by at least 50% compared with current systems opening up the application of Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) to small warships of the world’s navies.