Helical, Electric, Light, Intelligent Compressor (HELIC)

A counter-rotating helical screw compressor driven with a self-cooled variable speed electric motor and controller can meet the need for an air compressor with a compression ratio of 2 and a mass flow delivery of 1 lb/s  in a compact, light-weight system suitable for aircraft applications such as active flow control.   The speed and torque levels needed for the screw compressor are such that the motor and controller physical sizes are well balanced with the cooling capacity of the air flow drawn through the compressor.   From the controller perspective, air cooling is enabled by the use of wide band gap semiconductor devices and a controller topology that minimizes both the size and equivalent series resistance of the DC link capacitors.   An external cooling system, and its associated weight and footprint, is not required with the screw compressor approach.   Furthermore, the screw compressor, being a positive displacement pump, can exhibit fast response to flow commands  when driven by a controller utilizing model predictive control.  The helical, electric, light, and intelligent compressor (HELIC) can meet the program goals in a self-contained air compressor  that does not require an external cooling system.