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Superconducting Motors Ready?

Posted April 05, 2009 7:07 AM

Superconducting motors in the 50,000 horsepower range are now being deployed in marine applications. These motors are half the size and weight of standard motors, making them ideal for applications where space is limited and weight must be minimized. Are these motors ready for more extensive use, or will technical hurdles hold back widespread implementation?

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Guru
Engineering Fields - Control Engineering - New Member China - Member - New Member

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: CHINA
Posts: 2945
Good Answers: 14
#1

Re: Superconducting Motors Ready?

04/05/2009 10:05 PM

Superconducting material has got a fast and higher skill develope, superconduction transmitting line have been put into use. good news for this motors.

I was told Chinese and USA scienists joint together to publish a new theory to explain this superconduction and room temperature material will be coming.

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Anonymous Poster
#2
In reply to #1

Re: Superconducting Motors Ready?

04/06/2009 3:06 PM

If superconducting transmission lines become practical, then the entire energy issue becomes a minor point; certainly any type of generation facility could feed transmission lines and with next to zero transmission losses facilities can be remotely located.

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Guru
Engineering Fields - Control Engineering - New Member China - Member - New Member

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: CHINA
Posts: 2945
Good Answers: 14
#3
In reply to #2

Re: Superconducting Motors Ready?

04/06/2009 9:27 PM

yes, its chamming future. sciensits are struggle for this goal.

it was reported, there was really a part of line put inot use.

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Power-User

Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 227
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#4

Re: Superconducting Motors Ready?

04/10/2009 12:36 AM

At this point, the motors are probably fantastically expensive. The windings are most likely HTSC (high-temperature superconductor) materials so liquid nitrogen can be used for cooling. HTSC wires and cables are presently difficult to fabricate in significant quantities, but lN2 is much easier and cheaper to work with than liquid helium.

The "marine application" is a high speed naval combat vessel, for which the performance gain is judged to be worth the high price (especially since the customer's "board of directors" doesn't worry about dropping trillions of dollars on far more dubious projects).

This is typical for a new technology - the US military adopts it first because it is willing to pay a premium for a significant performance edge. It's considered worthwhile because it makes potential adversaries more reluctant to use violent means to get their way. The experience and early financial return enable developers to make the product cheaper and more readily available, if it is practical to do so. Eventually the product becomes a consumer commodity. (The LED is a classic example of such a product - Raytheon charged almost $100 each for the first ones used by the USAF, according to a former engineer I know who worked there in the early 1970's.)

Based on what little I've seen so far, I'd say it's too early to call the question for HTSC dynamos.

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