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Motor-driven switcher-recorder periodically registers the zero drift and gain drift signals of a dc amplifier subjected to changes in environment. A time coding method is used since several measurements are shared on a single recorder trace.
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The two electric vehicle propulsion systems that best met cost and performance goals were examined to assess the effect of battery pack voltage on system performance and cost. A voltage range of 54 to 540 V was considered for a typical battery pack capacity of 24 k W-hr. The highest battery specific energy (W-hr/kg) and the lowest cost ($/kW-hr) were obtained at the minimum voltage level. The flywheel system traction motor is a dc, mechanically commutated with shunt field control, and due to the flywheel the traction motor and the battery are not subject to extreme peaks of power demand. The basic system uses a permanent-magnet motor with electronic commutation supplied by an ac power control unit. In both systems battery cost were the major factor in system voltage selection, and a battery pack with the minimum voltage of 54 V produced the lowest life-cycle cost. The minimum life-cycle cost for the basic system with lead-acid batteries was $0.057/km and for the flywheel system was $0.037/km.
Space and mass are at a premium on any space mission, and thus any machinery designed for space use should be lightweight and compact, without sacrificing strength. It is for this reason that NASA/LeRC contracted Unique Mobility Corporation to exploit their novel actuator designs to build a robot that would advance the present state of technology with respect to these requirements. Custom-designed motors are the key feature of this robot. They are compact, high-performance dc brushless servo motors with a high pole count and low inductance, thus permitting high torque generation and rapid phase commutation. Using a custom-designed digital signal processor-based controller board, the pulse width modulation power amplifiers regulate the fast dynamics of the motor currents. In addition, the programmable digital signal processor (DSP) controller permits implementation of nonlinear compensation algorithms to account for motoring vs. regeneration, torque ripple, and back-EMF. As a result, the motors produce a high torque relative to their size and weight, and can do so with good torque regulation and acceptably high velocity saturation limits. This paper presents the Unique Mobility Corporation robot prototype: its actuators, its kinematic design, its control system, and its experimental characterization. Performance results, including saturation torques, saturation velocities and tracking accuracy tests are included.
Passive motor stability diagnostics require high s/n measurements of low level (60 to 80 db below mean pressure) oscillatory pressures in environments with large and varying DC pressures. Three approaches are briefly examined relative to passive diagnostic demands. Although the high pass filter approach has been demonstrated by Hessler, the 'short time constant' approach is recommended because it enables the use of sensitive p-ducers (resolutions approx. 10(exp -4) psi). Pieso-electric transducers are described and a methodology for using high sensitivity designs for passive diagnostics measurements is presented.
An inverter is connected between a source of DC power and a three-phase AC induction motor, and a micro-processor-based circuit controls the inverter using pulse width modulation techniques. In the disclosed method of pulse width modulation, both edges of each pulse of a carrier pulse train are equally modulated by a time proportional to sin .THETA., where .THETA. is the angular displacement of the pulse center at the motor stator frequency from a fixed reference point on the carrier waveform. The carrier waveform frequency is a multiple of the motor stator frequency. The modulated pulse train is then applied to each of the motor phase inputs with respective phase shifts of 120.degree. at the stator frequency. Switching control commands of electronic switches in the inverter are stored in a random access memory (RAM) and the locations of the RAM are successively read out in a cyclic manner, each bit of a given RAM location controlling a respective phase input of the motor. The DC power source preferably comprises rechargeable batteries and all but one of the electronic switches in the inverter can be disabled, the remaining electronic switch being part of a flyback DC-DC converter circuit for recharging the battery.
Cold performance tests and startup tests were conducted on the Brayton-cycle inverter, motor-driven pump, dc supply, speed control with parasitic load resistor and the Brayton control system. These tests were performed with the components in a vacuum and mounted on coldplates. A temperature range of ?25 to -50 C was used for the tests. No failures occurred, and component performance gave no indication that there would be any problem with the safe operation of the Brayton power generating system.
A prototype of a linear inertial reaction actuation (damper) device employing a flexure-pivoted reaction (proof) mass is discussed. The mass is driven by an electromechanic motor using a dc electromagnetic field and an ac electromagnetic drive. During the damping process, the actuator dissipates structural kinetic energy as heat through electromagnetic damping. A model of the inertial, stiffness and damping properties is presented along with the characteristic differential equations describing the coupled response of the actuator and structure. The equations, employing the dynamic coefficients, are oriented in the form of a feedback control network in which distributed sensors are used to dictate actuator response leading to a specified amount of structural excitation or damping.
A grating drive mechanism that achieves arcsecond positional control at both room temperature and 4 K is described. The mechanism accommodates eight equally spaced facets on a 360-deg drum, with each facet having arcsecond control over an angular range of +/-3 deg. The cryogenic portion consists of dry lubricated angular contact bearings, a dc brushless torque motor, and a compact magnetic position sensor capable of less than 1 arcsec rms resolution. Test results demonstrate angular repeatability of less than 2 arcsec rms at 4 K and static power dissipation to the helium bath of less than 100 microW.
The bibliography contains citations concerning the design, testing, and application of servomotors. AC, DC, and brushless motor drives are discussed. Applications are examined, including use in hydraulic presses; teleprinters; machine tools; sewing machines; and servocontrol devices for instrumentation, robots, and aircraft control. Testing methods evaluate precision, vibration and vibration reduction, and stability of servomotors.
The bibliography contains citations concerning the design, testing, and application of servomotors. AC, DC, and brushless motor drives are discussed. Applications are examined, including use in hydraulic presses; teleprinters; machine tools; sewing machines; and servocontrol devices for instrumentation, robots, and aircraft control. Testing methods evaluate precision, vibration and vibration reduction, and stability of servomotors. (Contains 50-250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.)
The development of safe, energy-dense batteries is critical to advancing hybrid electric and fully electrified aircraft propulsion. Achieving this capability requires a thermal management system that can maintain battery performance and safety under demanding operational conditions. The objective of this project is to support the maturation of next-generation lithium-ion batteries for electrified aircraft by conducting performance testing on integrated battery modules, specifically a 2-cell series configuration module housed within an aluminum enclosure. Designed to operate at a nominal 7.2 V with discharge rates up to 2.5C, the module will eventually be used to power an electric motor and DC-DC converter, generating substantial thermal loads that must be effectively managed to increase the usable energy and power density of electrified aircraft. To address these thermal challenges, this study presents the development and thermal-fluid analysis of a liquid-cooled thermal management system. While the full aircraft architecture utilizes an eight-string configuration, the present work evaluates a representative single-string water coolant loop to characterize baseline performance. The active cooling loop circulates water through a reservoir, pump, the battery module, and a variable area flow meter. Key performance metrics including component-level temperatures, mass flow rates, and pressure drops are quantified across the loop. Across discharge rates ranging from 0.5C to 2.5C, the active thermal loop consistently and effectively removed heat from the module, validating the design approach and confirming readiness for further development. The validated thermal performance indicates a path toward scalable battery modules that could enable energy and power dense systems for hybrid electric aircraft.
The NASA Glenn Research Center has been developing technology to enable the use of high speed flywheel energy storage units in future spacecraft for the last several years. An integral part of the flywheel unit is the three phase motor/generator that is used to accelerate and decelerate the flywheel. The motor/generator voltage is supplied from a pulse width modulated (PWM) inverter operating from a fixed DC voltage supply. The motor current is regulated through a closed loop current control that commands the necessary voltage from the inverter to achieve the desired current. The current regulation loop is the innermost control loop of the overall flywheel system and, as a result, must be fast and accurate over the entire operating speed range (20,000 to 60,000 rpm) of the flywheel. The voltage applied to the motor is a high frequency PWM version of the DC bus voltage that results in the commanded fundamental value plus higher order harmonics. Most of the harmonic content is at the switching frequency and above. The higher order harmonics cause a rapid change in voltage to be applied to the motor that can result in large voltage stresses across the motor windings. In addition, the high frequency content in the motor causes sensor noise in the magnetic bearings that leads to disturbances for the bearing control. To alleviate these problems, a filter is used to present a more sinusoidal voltage to the motor/generator. However, the filter adds additional dynamics and phase lag to the motor system that can interfere with the performance of the current regulator. This paper will discuss the tuning methodology and results for the motor/generator current regulator and the impact of the filter on the control. Results at speeds up to 50,000 rpm are presented.
Due to increasingly high DC link voltages and further advancements in the current density of silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs, it has become evident that conventional IGBT protection methods are not sufficient to protect these devices from overcurrent during low-inductance fault events. The use of an air core Rogowski coil topology was explored to see if it could mitigate these hard fault events. The design of this circuit resulted in safe shutdown of a low impedance phase-tophase fault, tested up to DC link voltages of 1 kV.
In the Space Station era, more operations will be performed robotically in space in the areas of servicing, assembly, and experiment tending among others. These robots may have various sets of requirements for accuracy, speed, and force generation, but there will be design constraints such as size, mass, and power dissipation limits. For actuation, a leading motor candidate is a dc brushless type, and there are numerous potential drive trains each with its own advantages and disadvantages. This experiment uses a harmonic drive and addresses some inherent limitations, namely its backdriveability and low frequency structural resonances. These effects are controlled and diminished by instrumenting the actuator system with a torque transducer on the output shaft. This noncollocated loop is closed to ensure that the commanded torque is accurately delivered to the manipulator link. The actuator system is modelled and its essential parameters identified. The nonlinear model for simulations will include inertias, gearing, stiction, flexibility, and the effects of output load variations. A linear model is extracted and used for designing the noncollocated torque and position feedback loops. These loops are simulated with the structural frequency encountered in the testbed system. Simulation results are given for various commands in position. The use of torque feedback is demonstrated to yield superior performance in settling time and positioning accuracy. An experimental setup being finished consists of a bench mounted motor and harmonic drive actuator system. A torque transducer and two position encoders, each with sufficient resolution and bandwidth, will provide sensory information. Parameters of the physical system are being identified and matched to analytical predictions. Initial feedback control laws will be incorporated in the bench test equipment and various experiments run to validate the designs. The status of these experiments is given.
An inverter for an electric vehicle propulsion application has been designed and constructed to excite a polyphase induction motor from a fixed propulsion battery source. The inverter, rated at 35kW peak power, is fully regenerative and permits vehicle operation in both the forward and reverse directions. Thyristors are employed as the power switching devices arranged in a dc bus commutated topology. This paper describes the major role the controller plays in generating the motor excitation voltage and frequency to deliver performance similar to dc systems. Motoring efficiency test data for the controller are presented. It is concluded that an SCR inverter in conjunction with an ac induction motor is a viable alternative to present dc vehicle propulsion systems on the basis of performance and size criteria.
This paper presents the magnetic design of a high-frequency three-phase rotary transformer for Wound Rotor Synchronous Motors (WRSM). The traditional DC field excitation of the WRSM is highly challenging as it relies on the brushed connection. The brush/slipring-based connections need cooling, sealing and prone to wear and tear requiring regular maintenance. The proposed three-phase rotary transformer replaces the traditional brushed excitation by a high-power density polyphase wireless excitation. Furthermore, compared to a traditional single-phase rotary transformer, the proposed three-phase rotary transformer significantly enhances the power density, and reduces the eddy current losses and the output voltage ripples.
Precision electromechanical power wrench applies a given amount of torque to a series of fasteners. It uses a commercially available dc permanent magnet torque motor with a current-controllable torque output and torque value indicator designed to the principles of human engineering.