SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel soft magnetic material for electric motor cores, a fabrication process to make components from the material, and an electric motor configuration leveraging the benefits of the material and fabrication process. The approach is to utilize a new single-step net-shape fabrication technique based on uniform-droplet spray deposition in a reactive atmosphere to produce an isotropic metal microstructure characterized by small domains of high permeability and low coercivity with a controlled formation of insulation boundaries that limit electrical conductivity between neighboring domains. This design is expected to provide a superior magnetic path while minimizing losses due to eddy currents, and eliminating design constraints associated with anisotropic laminated cores of conventional motors. The broader/commercial impact of this project will be the potential to provide spray-formed winding cores for hybrid-field motors to increase output, improve efficiency and reduce material scrap during fabrication, thus lowering the cost of electric motors. Considering the extensive use of electric motors in numerous applications, including industrial machinery and automation, robotics, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, appliances, power tools, medical devices, automotive applications, electric vehicles, military equipment etc., there is an increasing need for electric motors with improved performance, higher efficiency, and lower cost. This project is expected to have a significant commercial and environmental impact by providing low-cost and high-efficiency electric motor cores.

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.