SBIR Phase II: SBIR Phase II Spray-Formed Soft Magnetic Material for Efficient Hybrid-Field Electric Machines

该小企业创新研究(SBIR)二期项目旨在开发一种新型软磁材料和制造工艺，用于电机的磁路，如电机的绕组铁心。该技术利用基于金属喷射沉积的独特的一步近净形状制造工艺来制备各向同性的金属微结构，其特征是具有高磁导率、高饱和度和低矫直力的小磁区，并且绝缘边界的形成受到控制，从而限制了相邻磁区之间的电导率。所得到的材料提供了出色的三维磁路，同时最大限度地减少了与涡流相关的能量损失。它可以取代各向异性叠层绕组铁芯，后者目前将传统电机的设计限制在具有二维磁路的几何形状上。作为该项目的另一个目标，正在开发一种新的混合磁场电机拓扑结构，通过拟议的材料和制造工艺实现三维磁路。该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是能够生产性能和效率更高的电机，同时减少与制造电机绕组铁心相关的成本和材料废料。电机被广泛应用于越来越多的应用中，包括机器人、半导体和LED工艺设备、工业自动化、电动汽车、供暖、通风和空调系统、家电、电动工具、医疗设备以及军事和空间探索应用。这些市场推动了对性能更好、效率更高、成本更低的电机的需求不断增长。考虑到电机在全球的广泛使用，拟议的具有喷射成型绕组铁心的混合励磁电机技术所产生的颠覆性变化预计将提供显著的商业、社会和环境效益，包括提高制造效率、减少浪费和节约能源。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a novel soft magnetic material and fabrication process for magnetic circuits of electric machines, such as winding cores of electric motors. The technology utilizes a unique single-step near net-shape fabrication process based on metal spray deposition to produce an isotropic metal microstructure characterized by small domains with high permeability, high saturation and low coercivity with a controlled formation of insulation boundaries that limit electric conductivity between neighboring domains. The resulting material provides an excellent three-dimensional magnetic path while minimizing energy losses associated with eddy currents. It can replace anisotropic laminated winding cores, which currently constrain the design of conventional electric motors to geometries with two-dimensional magnetic paths. As a further objective of the project, a new hybrid-field motor topology, with three-dimensional magnetic paths enabled by the proposed material and fabrication process, is being developed.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to enable production of electric motors with improved performance and efficiency while reducing cost and material scrap associated with manufacturing of motor winding cores. Electric motors are used extensively in a growing number of applications, including robotics, semiconductor and LED process equipment, industrial automation, electric vehicles, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, appliances, power tools, medical devices, and military and space exploration applications. These markets drive an increasing demand for electric motors with improved performance, higher efficiency, and lower cost. Considering the extensive use of electric motors globally, the disruptive change resulting from the proposed hybrid-field motor technology with spray-formed winding cores is expected to provide significant commercial, societal and environmental benefits, including improved manufacturing efficiency, waste reduction, and energy conservation.