NON-CONTACTING MAGNETIC GEARS FOR USE IN QUIET SPEED REDUCERS

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE TURBINE POWER PLANT AS A TORPEDO PRIME MOVER CREATED A SPEED AND TORQUE MISMATCH BETWEEN THE POWER PLANT AND THE PROPELLER. CONVENTIONAL GEARTRAIN TECHNOLOGY IS CURRENTLY USED TO TRANSFORM ENGINE SHAFT OUTPUT TO THAT REQUIRED BY THE PROPELLER. THE INHERENT MESH NOISE GENERATED BY THE GEARSETS IS UNDESIRABLE. THE RESEARCH PROPOSED HEREIN WILL INITIATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF NONCONTRACTING MAGNETIC GEARS CONFIGURED IN A PLANETARY FORMAT. THE SUBSTANTIAL AIR GAPS REQUIRED BETWEEN THE REDUCTION STAGES INHIBIT THE TRANSMISSION OF DRIVETRAIN VIBRATIONS, THEREBY REDUCING OVERALL SYSTEM NOISE. POWER CONSUMED BY THE SYSTEM SHOULD BE RELATIVELY SMALL, SINCE THE REDUCTION OCCURS WITH CONSTANT RELATIVE TANGENTIAL VELOCITIES BETWEEN THE REDUCTION STAGES. SUPPORT SYSTEMS WILL INCLUDE POWER MANAGEMENT AND POSSIBLE ACTIVE CONTROL OF THE MAGNETICS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL VERIFY THE CONCEPT AND WILL RESULT IN A DESIGN DEFINITION OF THE MAGNETIC GEARS, IDENTIFYING POWER AND SUPPORT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. A LABORATORY PROTOTYPE WILL BE CONSTRUCTED AND TESTED AS A PHASE II EFFORT.