Wire-to-water efficiency improvement water heater circulators using innovative electric drivetrains

在许多国家，用于泵或其他工业应用的伺服电机目前是一种小众技术，但人们越来越期望它们在“低碳”的未来中发挥重要作用。这在很大程度上是因为一个快速脱碳电力供应的未来是可以想象的，在这种情况下，通过高效泵供电是碳排放最低的选择之一。泵的效率越高；它的碳足迹越低，因为它需要燃烧更少的化石燃料来运行。该项目为解决感应电机水泵对环境的不良影响提供了一个有希望的解决方案。由于目前住宅热水器的线对水效率较低（约30%）；在北美甚至全世界，每个家庭都要支付高昂的能源成本。这个项目的贡献体现在两个方面；首先是开发了一种映射算法，将压力头(H)和水流速度(Q)与最佳效率点（BEP）图表下相应的转矩和速度联系起来，并将其编程到控制器中；其次是通过广泛的数值分析技术开发了一种具有成本效益的无刷直流（BLDC）电机。通过比较两种不同的设计方案，设计出脉动力矩最小的无刷直流电机。新的控制器是基于一种改进的场定向控制（FOC）。控制器PCB是2层的，以提供一个具有成本效益的解决方案。所提出的泵消除了控制器电池的需要，因为控制电压与电机一起直接从线路馈电。电机仿真模型和控制器设计程序将根据两种可能样机的仿真结果进行开发。我们将为150W的住宅用水泵建立一个实验样机，并给出初步结果，以突出工作的优点。

Servo motors used in pumps or other industrial applications is currently a niche technology in many countries, but they are increasingly expected to form an important role in a "low carbon" future. This is largely because a future of rapidly decarbonised electricity supply is imagined, in which using electricity via high efficiency pumps is one of the lowest carbon options. The higher the pump efficiency; the lower its carbon foot print as it will require less fossil fuel to be burned to operate it.This project presents a promising solution to the problem of the bad environmental impacts of the induction motor based water pumps. Due to the low wire-to-water efficiency of the current residential water heaters (Around 30%); a high energy cost is paid by every household in North America and even worldwide. The contribution of this project comes in two folds; the first is the development of a mapping algorithm that relates the pressure head (H) and the water flow rate (Q) to a corresponding torque ad speed under the chart of Best Efficiency Point (BEP), which was programmed to the controller, the second is the development of a cost effective Brushless DC (BLDC) motor through extensive numerical analysis technique. The proposed motor solution designs the BLDC with minimal pulsating torque by comparing two different designs. The new controller is based on a modified field oriented control (FOC). The controller PCB is of 2-layers to offer a cost effective solution. The proposed pump eliminates the need of a battery for the controller as the control voltage is fed directly from the line together with the motor. The motor simulation model and the controller design procedure will be developed with simulation results of two possible prototypes. An experimental prototype will be built for a 150W residential pump and preliminary results will be given to highlight the merits of the work.