HOMOPOLAR DC MOTOR AND TRAPPED FLUX BRUSHLESS DC MOTOR USING HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTOR MATERIALS

Two motors have been designed and built for use with high temperature superconductor (HTSC) materials. They are a homopolar DC motor that will use HTSC field windings and a brushless DC motor that will use bulk HTSC material to trap flux in steel rotor poles. The HTSC field windings of the homopolar DC motor are designed to operate at 1000 Amperes/cm2 in a 0.010 Tesla (100 Gauss) field. In order to maximize torque in the homopolar DC motor, an iron magnetic circuit with small air gaps gives maximum flux for minimum Ampere turns in the field. A copper field winding version of the homopolar DC motor has been tested while we wait for 575 Ampere turn HTSC coils. The trapped flux brushless DC motor has been built and is ready to test melt textured bulk HTSC rings that are currently being prepared. The stator of the trapped flux motor will impress a magnetic field in the steel rotor poles with warm HTSC bulk rings. The rings are then cooled to 77 K to trap the flux in the rotor. The motor can then operate as a brushless DC motor.