ANALYSIS OF THE TORQUE FREQUENCY-CHARACTERISTICS OF DIELECTRIC INDUCTION-MOTORS

The torque produced by a dielectric induction motor (IM) is a complex function of the system geometry, dielectric architecture of the rotor, field strength and frequency. This paper gives an overview about the analysis of the steady-state operation of rotors of complex architecture based on published and original calculations. Derivations of the frequency-rotation and torque-frequency characteristics of different types of dielectric rotors are summarized. Important aspects of the dielectric relaxation principle and differences from electrostatic synchronous motors are discussed. The presented theoretical framework allows the torque of a large number of complex rotors driven by rectangular field pulses or sinusoidal excitation to be calculated. For experiments, micromotors are fabricated with conventional techniques, having rotors with diameters from 3-mu-m down to 3 mm. The characteristic parameters of these motors are found to be in good agreement with our theoretical predictions. Recent advances in micromachining technology give the possibility of fabricating an IM using silicon technology. Relations to this technique are briefly discussed.