Development of a Novel Energy Efficient Magnetic Scroll Air Motor

新型节能磁力涡旋空气电机的研制

• 批准号: EP/H004084/2
• 负责人: Jihong Wang
• 金额: $ 11.35万
• 依托单位: University of Warwick
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2011 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FH004084%2F2
• 关键词: Development; Novel; Energy; Efficient; Magnetic

A scroll air motor, also known as a scroll expander is a relatively new concept to pneumatic actuators. Its unique structure features it many advantages as well as higher ability of energy conversion than other conventional pneumatic actuators, such as cylinders, vane-type air motors, etc. The scroll technique is now mainly and widely implemented in air conditioner and refrigeration compressors. The small, quiet, and highly compact design matches the requirement arising from designing refrigeration compressors. When a scroll air motor is running, the moving scroll wobbles inside the fixed scroll and it can revolve eccentrically with respect to the fixed one to form several sealed crescent chambers, and the motor goes successively and periodically. Recently, the concept was re-invented to build scroll air motors (expanders), which are immediately adopted to drive generators for electric power generation because of the scroll's inherent advantages. Such a scroll and generator combination has been successfully used in Micro Combined Heat and Power systems (Micro CHP) by a number of companies, such as Energetix Group Plc and Honda. Micro CHP is used to generate electric power while heating a house and invert surplus electric power to grid. It is claimed that up to 95% of available fuel energy can be used and the people could save 20% of gas and electricity bills by using the CHP system at home. In a CHP system, the scroll air motor serves as a driving force to drive the generator and also circulate the heat energy. On the other hand, the scroll air motor may be used for compressed air energy storage system to solve the problems of diffusion and intermittence associated with renewable resource electricity . It is well noticed that the instability and air leakage of air motor reduces the energy efficiency of a scroll. From our research, we observed that the energy efficiency will be dramatically reduced at lower compressed air supply pressures, for example, driving by exhaust compressed air. This characteristic will affect and limit many applications of the scroll, such as, recycling exhaust energy, fuel cell, and energy storage for renewable power generation. In this proposal, an inventive approach is proposed for improvement of scroll energy efficiency - development of a Magnetic Scroll, which will allow a scroll air motor to work at lower and variable air pressures. The key feature of the proposed approach is to make scroll spirals using magnetic materials. The magnetic scroll air motor consists of spirals made from permanent magnet inside the scroll motor. Each scroll is magnetized in one particular direction in the way that magnetic field arrangements of both scrolls are opposite to each other for their location inside the scroll air motor. For the magnetic scroll, the compressed air is supplied to produce mechanical force for scroll motion and the magnetized scroll will generate extra force at certain positions to drive the moving scroll to moving along its designed moving direction. From our initial simulation study, the following advantages of the proposed magnetic scroll will have: 1) to reduce the air leakage; 2) to improve energy efficiency of the scroll; 3) to allow the scroll to be able to work at a low compressed air supply. The total energy saving compared with the current scroll could be about 20% from our initial analysis. This proposal is to implement the idea by further simulation study and making a prototype of the scroll. A number of issues will be explored in the proposed research, such as, the suitable materials for the scroll, the scheme for magnetizing the scroll shaped material, assembly of the moving and fixed scroll, the mechanism of the magnetic field evolving along the scroll motion trajectory, control strategy for the scroll to get smooth movement, the quantified analysis for energy saving.

涡旋空气马达，也称为涡旋膨胀机，是气动致动器的一个相对较新的概念。它独特的结构特点使其具有许多优点，以及比其他传统的气动执行机构，如气缸，叶片式空气马达等更高的能量转换能力。涡旋技术现在主要和广泛地应用于空调和制冷压缩机。小型、安静和高度紧凑的设计符合设计制冷压缩机的要求。一种涡旋式气动马达，当马达运转时，动涡盘在定涡盘内摆动，并可相对于定涡盘作偏心旋转，形成多个封闭的月牙形腔，马达周期性地连续运转。最近，这一概念被重新发明，以建造涡旋空气马达（膨胀器），由于涡旋的固有优势，这些马达立即被采用来驱动发电机发电。这种涡管和发电机的组合已经被许多公司，例如Energetix Group Plc和本田成功地用于微型热电联产系统（Micro CHP）。微型热电联产用于在为房屋供暖的同时发电，并将多余的电力转化为电网。据称，高达95%的可用燃料能源可以使用，人们可以节省20%的天然气和电费，通过在家里使用热电联产系统。在热电联产系统中，涡旋空气马达用作驱动发电机的驱动力，并且还循环热能。另一方面，涡旋空气马达可用于压缩空气储能系统，以解决与可再生资源电力相关的扩散和不稳定问题。气动马达的不稳定性和漏气现象降低了涡旋的能量效率。从我们的研究中，我们观察到，在较低的压缩空气供应压力下，例如，由排气压缩空气驱动，能源效率将显著降低。这一特性将影响和限制涡卷的许多应用，例如，回收废气能量、燃料电池和用于可再生发电的能量存储。在该提案中，提出了一种用于提高涡旋能量效率的创造性方法-磁性涡旋的开发，其将允许涡旋空气马达在较低和可变的空气压力下工作。所提出的方法的关键特征是使用磁性材料制造涡旋螺旋。磁涡旋式空气马达是由永磁体制成的螺旋体在涡旋马达内部构成。每个涡卷在一个特定方向上被磁化，使得两个涡卷的磁场布置对于它们在涡卷空气马达内的位置彼此相反。对于磁性涡旋件，提供压缩空气以产生涡旋运动的机械力，并且磁化涡旋件将在某些位置处产生额外的力，以驱动动涡旋件沿其设计的运动方向沿着运动。从我们最初的模拟研究来看，所提出的磁性涡旋将具有以下优点：1）减少空气泄漏; 2）提高涡旋的能量效率; 3）允许涡旋能够在低压缩空气供应下工作。从我们的初步分析来看，与目前的卷轴相比，总的节能量约为20%。本研究拟借由进一步的模拟研究，并制作出涡旋件的原型，以实现此一构想。本研究将探讨涡旋材料的选择、涡旋材料的磁化方案、动、静涡旋的装配、磁场沿涡旋运动轨迹沿着演化的机理、涡旋运动平稳的控制策略、节能的量化分析等问题。

项目成果

A novel magnetic scroll expander as a drive for electricity generation

一种新型磁力涡旋膨胀机作为发电驱动装置

• 发表时间: 2014
• 期刊: The Proceedings of IET International Conference on Power Electronics, Machines and Drives (IET PEMD 2014)
• 作者: Xing Luo