Reducing the Cost of Electric Propulsion Motors through Optimization of Stator Coils

50528-98-I Reducing the Cost of Electric Propulsion Motors through Optimization of Stator Coils--Visual Computing Systems Corporation, 9540 Highway 150, P.O. Box 250, Greenville, IN 47124-9683; (812) 923-7474 Mr. Roy Kessinger, Jr., Principal Investigator Mr. Robert J. Westerkamp, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-98ER82709 Amount: $75,000 The Department of Energy needs to reduce the size, weight, and cost of hybrid electric vehicle motors. Traditional motor coils tend to have low copper density and poor utilization of the space available for coil conductors. This results in lower efficiency, greater material usage and higher production cost. A motor stator based on segmented electromagnetic array (SEMA) technology may reduce copper losses to one-third of that present in conventional designs, leading to significant reductions in motor size, weight and cost. In Phase I, several stator optimization techniques will be compared using computer-aided analysis. Construction and laboratory testing of sub-scale prototype components will be performed if necessary. The most promising techniques will be selected for implementation in the Phase II effort. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: If successful, this project should lead to compact, high-efficiency motors for electric vehicles, industrial and military applications, air conditioning compressors, blowers, fans and manufacturing robotics._