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We report on persistent field in a quasi-permanent magnet made of high temperature superconductor. The material has an average of 40 percent molar excess of Y, relative to Y1Ba2Cu3O7 and has been irradiated with high energy light ions at 200 MeV. The magnet, which traps 1.52 T at 77.3 K, traps nearly 4 T at 64.5 K. No evidence of giant flux jump or sample cracking was observed.
Rare-earth (R) permanent magnets of R2Fe14B have technological importance due to their high energy products, and they have two R-sites (Wyckoff 4f and 4g, with four-fold multiplicity) that affect chemistry and valence. Designing magnetic behavior and stability via alloying is technologically relevant to reduce critical (expensive) R-content while retaining key properties; cerium, an abundant (cheap) R-element, offers this potential. We calculate magnetic properties and Ce site preference in (R1-xCex)(2)Fe14B [R = La, Nd] using density functional theory (DFT) methods-including a DFT+U scheme to treat localized 4f-electrons. Fe moments compare well with neutron data-almost unaffected by Hubbard U, and weakly affected by spin-orbit coupling. In La2Fe14B, Ce alloys for 0 <= x <= 1 and prefers smaller R(4f) sites, as observed, a trend we find unaffected by valence. Whereas, in Nd2Fe14B, Ce is predicted to have limited alloying (x <= 0.3) with a preference for larger R(4g) sites, resulting in weak partial ordering and segregation. The Curie temperatures versus x for (Nd, Ce) were predicted for a typical sample processing and verified experimentally. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4789527]
Magnetic bearings have been successfully applied to motorized rotor systems in the multi-kilogram range, at speeds up to 1200 radians per second. These engineering models also indicated the need for continued development in specific areas to make them feasible for spacecraft applications. Significant power reductions have recently been attained. A unique magnetic circuit, combining permanent magnets with electromagnetic control, has a bidirectional forcing capability with improved current sensitivity. The multi-dimensional nature of contact-free rotor support is discussed. Stable continuous radial suspension is provided by a rotationally symmetric permanent magnet circuit. Two bearings, on a common shaft, counteract the normal instability perpendicular to the rotational axis. The axial direction is servoed to prevent contact. A new bearing technology and a new field of application for magnetics is foreseen.
A prototype magnetically suspended composite flywheel energy storage (FES) system is operating at the University of Maryland. This system, designed for spacecraft applications, incorporates recent advances in the technologies of composite materials, magnetic suspension, and permanent magnet brushless motor/generator. The current system is referred to as an Open Core Composite Flywheel (OCCF) energy storage system. This paper will present design improvements for enhanced and robust performance. Initially, when the OCCF prototype was spun above its first critical frequency of 4,500 RPM, the rotor movement would exceed the space available in the magnetic suspension gap and touchdown on the backup mechanical bearings would occur. On some occasions it was observed that, after touchdown, the rotor was unable to re-suspend as the speed decreased. Additionally, it was observed that the rotor would exhibit unstable oscillations when the control system was initially turned on. Our analysis suggested that the following problems existed: (1) The linear operating range of the magnetic bearings was limited due to electrical and magnetic saturation; (2) The inductance of the magnetic bearings was affecting the transient response of the system; (3) The flywheel was confined to a small movement because mechanical components could not be held to a tight tolerance; and (4) The location of the touchdown bearing magnifies the motion at the pole faces of the magnetic bearings when the linear range is crucial. In order to correct these problems an improved design of the flywheel energy storage system was undertaken. The magnetic bearings were re-designed to achieve a large linear operating range and to withstand load disturbances of at least 1 g. The external position transducers were replaced by a unique design which were resistant to magnetic field noise and allowed cancellation of the radial growth of the flywheel at high speeds. A central rod was utilized to ensure the concentricity of the magnetic bearings, the motor/generator, and the mechanical touchdown bearings. In addition, the mechanical touchdown bearings were placed at two ends of the magnetic bearing stack to restrict the motion at pole faces. A composite flywheel was made using a multi-ring interference assembled design for a high specific energy density. To achieve a higher speed and better efficiency, a permanent magnet DC brushless motor was specially designed and fabricated. A vacuum enclosure was constructed to eliminate windage losses for testing at high speeds. With the new improvements the OCCF system was tested to 20,000 RPM with a total stored energy of 15.9 WH and an angular momentum of 54.8 N-m-s (40.4 lb-ft-s). Motor current limitation, caused by power loss in the magnetic bearings, was identified as causing the limit in upper operating speed.
The assessment of flywheel energy storage for spacecraft power system is based on the conceptual flywheel design. This conceptual design of an integrated flywheel is based on the Mechanical Capacitor which evolved from development of magnetic bearings and permanent magnet ironless-brushless DC motors. The mechanical capacitor is based on three key technologies: (1) a composite rotor with a low ID to OD ratio for high energy density (weight and volume); (2) magnetic suspension close to the geometric center of the rotating mass to minimize loads normally encountered on the ends of a shaft, a no-wear mechanism in a vacuum environment, and to minimize losses at high rotational speeds; (3) permanent magnet ironless-brushless DC motor/generator for high efficiency of conversion and low losses at high rotational speeds. The complete system would include the necessary electronics for the motor/generator, containment, and counterrotating wheels for attitude control compatibility.
MnBi has attracted much attention in recent years due to its potential as a rare-earth-free permanent magnet material. It is unique because its coercivity increases with increasing temperature, which makes it a good hard phase material for exchange coupling nanocomposite magnets. MnBi phase is difficult to obtain, partly because the reaction between Mn and Bi is peritectic, and partly because Mn reacts readily with oxygen. MnO formation is irreversible and harmful to magnet performance. In this paper, we report our efforts toward developing MnBi permanent magnets. To date, high purity MnBi (>90%) can be routinely produced in large quantities. The produced powder exhibits 74:6 emu g1 saturation magnetization at room temperature with 9 T applied field. After proper alignment, the maximum energy product (BH) max of the powder reached 11.9 MGOe, and that of the sintered bulk magnet reached 7.8 MGOe at room temperature. A comprehensive study of thermal stability shows that MnBi powder is stable up to 473 K in air.
A system and method for heating ferrite permanent magnets in an electrical machine is disclosed. The permanent magnet machine includes a stator assembly and a rotor assembly, with a plurality of ferrite permanent magnets disposed within the stator assembly or the rotor assembly to generate a magnetic field that interacts with a stator magnetic field to produce a torque. A controller of the electrical machine is programmed to cause a primary field current to be applied to the stator windings to generate the stator magnetic field, so as to cause the rotor assembly to rotate relative to the stator assembly. The controller is further programmed to cause a secondary current to be applied to the stator windings to selectively generate a secondary magnetic field, the secondary magnetic field inducing eddy currents in at least one of the stator assembly and the rotor assembly to heat the ferrite permanent magnets.
A system and method for heating ferrite permanent magnets in an electrical machine is disclosed. The permanent magnet machine includes a stator assembly and a rotor assembly, with a plurality of ferrite permanent magnets disposed within the stator assembly or the rotor assembly to generate a magnetic field that interacts with a stator magnetic field to produce a torque. A controller of the electrical machine is programmed to cause a primary field current to be applied to the stator windings to generate the stator magnetic field, so as to cause the rotor assembly to rotate relative to the stator assembly. The controller is further programmed to cause a secondary current to be applied to the stator windings to selectively generate a secondary magnetic field, the secondary magnetic field inducing eddy currents in at least one of the stator assembly and the rotor assembly to heat the ferrite permanent magnets.
We present ferrofluidic feedthrough (FF) rotary seals containing either NdFeB or SmCo-type permanent magnets that have been considered for use in the target and beam dump systems of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). To evaluate their performance under irradiation three FF seals were irradiated in a mixed field consisting of fast neutrons, protons and γ-rays to an average absorbed dose of 0.2, 2.0, and 20.0 MGy at the Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer facility (BLIP). The radiation types and energy profiles mimic those expected at the FRIB facility. Degradation of the operational performance of these devices due to irradiation is expected to be the result of the de-magnetization of the permanent magnets contained within the seal and the changes in the ferrofluid properties. Post-irradiation performance was evaluated by determining the ferrofluidic seal vacuum tightness and torque under static and dynamic conditions. The study revealed that the ferrofluidic feedthrough seal irradiated to a dose of 0.2 MGy maintained its vacuum tightness under both static and rotational condition while the one irradiated to a dose of 2.0 MGy exhibited signs of ferrofluid damage but no overall performance loss. Lastly, at 20 MGy dose the effects of irradiation on the ferrofluid properties (viscosity and particle agglomeration) were shown to be severe. Furthermore, limited de-magnetization of the annular shaped Nd 2 Fe 14 B and Sm 2 Co 17 magnets located within the irradiated FFs was observed for doses of 0.2 MGy and 20 MGy respectively.
Permanent magnets are the functional component of electric motors and generators found in numerous renewable energy applications spanning from regenerative brakes to wind turbines. Magnets that generate higher magnetic flux per volume are central to improved energy generation in these applications. To develop a new class of permanent magnets while retaining the properties conferred by rare-earth elements, a fundamentally different approach is required. We hypothesize that by engendering a covalent interaction between two elements, it will be possible to interact the two components of a magnetic moment—spin and orbital angular momentum—from two separate atoms to form a complete magnetic moment. This seed project focuses on the scale up of the compound FeBi 2 , which was initially synthesized in our laboratory. Scale up approaches include slow decompression, alternate synthetic routes, and using fabrication approaches to more intimately mix the precursor elements. We also pursued the synthesis of new phases in the Mn-Bi system targeted to create new magnetic materials. In our initial experiments we decompressed FeBi 2 down to 2.9 GPa, demonstrating a kinetic stability to the phase that enabled it to be recovered to an order of magnitude lower pressure than that needed to synthesize it (30 GPa). Our goal is to recover this exciting material to ambient pressures so that we can isolate samples for detailed physical properties measurements. We have undertaken three distinct approaches toward that goal, which we summarize below. Our two most notable results are the formation of a quenchable phase through antimony doping of FeBi 2 , and the development of a new approach to preparing samples for diamond anvil cell syntheses.
Radial Halbach magnetic bearings have been investigated as part of an effort to develop increasingly reliable noncontact bearings for future high-speed rotary machines that may be used in such applications as aircraft, industrial, and land-vehicle power systems and in some medical and scientific instrumentation systems. Radial Halbach magnetic bearings are based on the same principle as that of axial Halbach magnetic bearings, differing in geometry as the names of these two types of bearings suggest. Both radial and axial Halbach magnetic bearings are passive in the sense that unlike most other magnetic bearings that have been developed in recent years, they effect stable magnetic levitation without need for complex active control. Axial Halbach magnetic bearings were described in Axial Halbach Magnetic Bearings (LEW-18066-1), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 32, No. 7 (July 2008), page 85. In the remainder of this article, the description of the principle of operation from the cited prior article is recapitulated and updated to incorporate the present radial geometry. In simplest terms, the basic principle of levitation in an axial or radial Halbach magnetic bearing is that of the repulsive electromagnetic force between (1) a moving permanent magnet and (2) an electric current induced in a stationary electrical conductor by the motion of the magnetic field. An axial or radial Halbach bearing includes multiple permanent magnets arranged in a Halbach array ("Halbach array" is defined below) in a rotor and multiple conductors in the form of wire coils in a stator, all arranged so the rotary motion produces an axial or radial repulsion that is sufficient to levitate the rotor. A basic Halbach array (see Figure 1) consists of a row of permanent magnets, each oriented so that its magnetic field is at a right angle to that of the adjacent magnet, and the right-angle turns are sequenced so as to maximize the magnitude of the magnetic flux density on one side of the row while minimizing it on the opposite side. The advantage of this configuration is that it makes it possible to approach the theoretical maximum force per unit area that could be exerted by a given amount of permanent-magnet material. The configuration is named after physicist Klaus Halbach, who conceived it for use in particle accelerators. Halbach arrays have also been studied for use in magnetic-levitation ("maglev") railroad trains. In a radial Halbach magnetic bearing, the basic Halbach arrangement is modified into a symmetrical arrangement of sector-shaped permanent magnets mounted on the outer cylindrical surface of a drum rotor (see Figure 2). The magnets are oriented to concentrate the magnetic field on their radially outermost surface. The stator coils are mounted in a stator shell surrounding the rotor.
Magnetic properties of Ce and Co co-doped (Nd 1-x Ce x ) 2 Fe 14-y Co y B compounds have been investigated both in bulk polycrystalline and rapidly solidified nanostructured ribbon forms. For certain Ce concentrations the materials exhibit spin re-orientation transitions below 140 K. The Curie temperatures, saturation magnetizations, and other magnetic properties relevant for applications as permanent magnets are controlled by Ce and Co substitutions for Nd and Fe, respectively. Most importantly, the results show that Ce, Co co-doped compounds are excellent replacements for several Dy-based high performance permanent magnets (dysprosium is one of the critical elements and is, therefore, in short supply). As a result, the high temperature (>375 K) magnetic properties for Nd–Ce–Fe–Co–B based alloys show promise not only as a replacement for Dy-doped Nd 2 Fe 14 B permanent magnets, but the new alloys also require significantly lower amounts of Nd, which too is the critical element that can be replaced by a more abundant Ce.
The geometrical optimization of aligned hard-soft permanent-magnet nanocomposites is investigated by model calculations. Considered criteria are the shapes of the soft and c-axis-aligned hard phases, the packing fraction of the soft phase, and magnetostatic interactions. Taking into account that the energy product is enhanced via the volume fraction of the soft phase, subject to maintaining coercivity, we find that the best structures are soft-magnetic cubes as well as long rods with a square cross section. Comparing embedded soft cubes with embedded soft spheres of the same size, our nucleation-field analysis shows that the volume fraction of the soft phase is enhanced by 91%, with a coercivity reduction of only 25%. Magnetostatic interactions often but not always deteriorate the permanent-magnet performance, as exemplified by the example of MnBi:FeCo bilayers and multilayers.
A bulk high performance permanent magnet comprising a neodymium-iron-boron core having an outer surface, and a coercivity-enhancing element residing on at least a portion of said outer surface, with an interior portion of said neodymium-iron-boron core not having said coercivity-enhancing element therein. Also described herein is a method for producing the high-coercivity bulk permanent magnet, the method comprising: (i) depositing a coercivity-enhancing element on at least a portion of an outer surface of a neodymium-iron-boron core substrate to form a coated permanent magnet; and (ii) subjecting the coated permanent magnet to a pulse thermal process that heats said outer surface to a substantially higher temperature than an interior portion of said neodymium-iron-boron core substrate, wherein said substantially higher temperature is at least 200° C. higher than said interior portion and is of sufficient magnitude to induce diffusion of said coercivity-enhancing element below said outer surface but outside of said interior portion.
Th2Zn17−type structure-based permanent magnets, such as Sm2Fe17N3, offer strong potential as alternatives to neodymium magnets (NdFeB), but their practical use is limited by phase stability and the scarcity of Sm. Ce-based counterparts, particularly Ce2Fe17N3, are attractive low-cost candidates, yet their intrinsic planar magnetic anisotropy restricts permanent-magnet performance. Here, we induce uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in Ce2Fe17N3 through two approaches: (i) Co substitution on the Fe sublattice and (ii) partial substitution of Ce with Sm. Combined density functional theory and experimental results show that both strategies modify the 3𝑑–4𝑓 interactions and band filling, yielding magnetization values up to ∼1.2T and magnetocrystalline anisotropy energies exceeding 1MJ/m3 for Co-alloyed compositions, with significantly larger anisotropy achieved upon Sm substitution. In addition, the Sm-substituted Ce2Fe17N3 samples exhibit enhanced high-temperature stability compared to Sm2Fe17N3. These findings demonstrate that Ce2Fe17N3-based alloys can deliver magnetic performance suitable for permanent-magnet applications while reducing cost and reliance on critical rare-earth elements, and they provide practical design guidelines for rare-earth-lean magnets for energy and industrial applications.
A proposed design for an electromagnetic brake would increase the reliability while reducing the number of parts and the weight, relative to a prior commercially available electromagnetic brake. The reductions of weight and the number of parts could also lead to a reduction of cost. A description of the commercial brake is prerequisite to a description of the proposed electromagnetic brake. The commercial brake (see upper part of figure) includes (1) a permanent magnet and an electromagnet coil on a stator and (2) a rotor that includes a steel contact plate mounted, with tension spring loading, on an aluminum hub. The stator is mounted securely on a stationary object, which would ordinarily be the housing of a gear drive or a motor. The rotor is mounted on the shaft of the gear drive or motor. The commercial brake nominally operates in a fail-safe (in the sense of normally braking) mode: In the absence of current in the electromagnet coil, the permanent magnet pulls the contact plate, against the spring tension, into contact with the stator. To release the brake, one excites the electromagnet with a current of the magnitude and polarity chosen to cancel the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet, thereby enabling the spring tension to pull the contact plate out of contact with the stator. The fail-safe operation of the commercial brake depends on careful mounting of the rotor in relation to the stator. The rotor/stator gap must be set with a tolerance between 10 and 15 mils (between about 0.25 and about 0.38 mm). If the gap or the contact pad is thicker than the maximum allowable value, then the permanent magnetic field will not be strong enough to pull the steel plate across the gap. (For this reason, any contact pad between the contact plate and the stator must also be correspondingly thin.) If the gap exceeds the maximum allowable value because of shaft end play, it becomes impossible to set the brake by turning off the electromagnet current. Although it may still be possible to set the brake by applying an electromagnet current to aid the permanent magnetic field instead of canceling it, this action can mask an out-of-tolerance condition in the brake and it does not restore the fail-safe function of setting the brake when current is lost.
In this work we examine the progress made in the design of the proposed FFA upgrade to the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). This proposed upgrade will double the number of passes through the two linacs by replacing the two highest energy arcs with new Fixed Field Alternating Gradient (FFA) arcs, roughly doubling the energy. These FFA arcs will use permanent magnets in a Halbach configuration to shape their fields. The design involves new optics for the linacs and remaining electromagnetic arcs, as well as new electromagnetic separators. These feed into the permanent magnet FFA arcs. We also report on ongoing studies of the dynamics of the beams, and an experiment to measure the effects of radiation on the permanent magnets.
The usage of permanent magnets to shape the confining magnetic field of a stellarator has the potential to reduce or eliminate the need for non-planar coils. As a proof-of-concept for this idea, here we have developed a procedure for designing an array of cubic permanent magnets that works in tandem with a set of toroidal-field (TF) coils to confine a stellarator plasma. All of the magnets in the design are constrained to have identical geometry and one of three polarization types in order to simplify fabrication while still producing sufficient field accuracy. We present some of the key steps leading to the design, including the geometric arrangement of the magnets around the device, the procedure for optimizing the polarizations according to the three allowable magnet types, and the choice of magnet types to be used. We apply these methods to design an array of rare-Earth permanent magnets that can be paired with a set of planar TF coils to confine a quasi-axisymmetric plasma with a toroidal magnetic field strength of about 0.5 T on axis.