A unique detail will increase the engine power for aircraft by five times
MAI has developed a technology for the production of one of the main components of an electric motor — coils made of high-temperature superconductors. Due to the properties of the material, the part increases the power of machines running on electricity by five times without increasing their mass. This is very important for creating the first airliner flying due to the movement of current. According to experts, innovative coils really bring the era of fundamentally new aviation closer. However, to create the first operational aircraft, many more obstacles must be overcome, the main one of which is the heavy weight of the batteries.
Without weight gain
Scientists of the Moscow Aviation Institute have developed an original technology for the production of coils from high-temperature superconductors, that is, having the ability to pass electric current without resistance and loss of electricity. This is one of the main details in the design of an electric motor, on which its main characteristics depend. The use of such coils makes it possible to increase the power of electric motors by almost five times without increasing their mass.
The principle of operation is as follows. Current flows through the coils. This creates a magnetic field. By converting the energy of the magnetic field, the motor performs mechanical work. A higher current can be passed through a superconductor than through a conventional conductor, which means that stronger magnetic fields can be created. At the same time, losses during the flow of current are reduced, so the efficiency of the engine becomes higher, the scientists explained.
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— Due to this, the specific power increases, that is, how much the motor gives with 1 kg of its mass. For traditional electric machines, this is 5 kW/kg at best, and for superconducting machines it can be more than 20 kW/kg," explained Nikolay Ivanov, head of the Research Department of the Department of "Electric Power, Electromechanical and Biotechnical Systems" of MAI to Izvestia.
The technology developed at MAI makes it possible to produce coils entirely from Russian components, do it in large quantities and at the same time obtain a product with the desired properties.
The technology can be used in any vehicles. However, the developers plan to use it primarily to create an electric motor for aviation, where the mass of equipment is of particular importance.
— The use of superconductivity in aviation makes it possible to create a previously impossible variant of an aircraft — a fully electric aircraft. But not in the form of models, small unmanned aerial vehicles or single—seat manned vehicles that are actively included in everyday life, but in the form of a large passenger long-haul airliner," said Sergey Zanegin, researcher at the Department of Electric Power, Electromechanical and Biotechnical Systems at MAI.
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According to scientists, superconducting coils have many advantages, but their introduction into the design of an aircraft engine also entails some difficulties. For example, they can only work at ultra—low temperatures - below -200 °C. However, engineers already have several solutions, the choice of which will depend on the design of a particular device.
Nine steps
According to MAI, the creation of a full-fledged electric motor for aviation has become a goal for many scientists from different countries. Almost all projects on the planet in this area are now at the same stage. According to the generally accepted scale in the world that assesses the level of readiness of technologies, today humanity in this area is at the fourth or fifth stage out of nine, that is, at the level of laboratory samples. The assembly of the first large working copy, which would have passed at least full-fledged ground tests, would have advanced specialists to the sixth or even seventh level. According to scientists, it will take about four years.
In order to create an electric airplane, you first need to solve the problem of batteries. They must ensure the proper operation of the engine and do it for a long time. It is also necessary to make the case as light as possible and switch to composite materials, according to the inventor, author of more than two dozen developments for aviation Hamid Khalidov.
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— Of course, increasing the specific power of the engine without increasing its mass is an important achievement that gives many advantages. However, the transition to a new type of aircraft is a complex problem. It is necessary to think over a new skin, and to achieve a minimum weight of all other nodes. Most likely, this movement will be carried out in jerks. Today we got a new coil, and tomorrow some other component. And so in the end we will assemble an advanced aircraft," Hamid Khalidov is sure.
Material of the future
Superconductors can have a lower thermal resistance, which will effectively remove heat and prevent overheating of the engine. As a result, this will improve his work and the duration of his service, says Alexey Rabin, director of the Center for the Coordination of Scientific Research at GUAP. But in addition to upgrading the coils to create an aircraft electric motor, it is also necessary to solve a number of other problems.
— This is energy storage: batteries still have a very limited capacity. Safety systems that will prevent the occurrence of fire or explosion and ensure reliable operation of the electric motor in any conditions. As well as its integration with other aircraft systems, primarily flight control, electrical and cooling systems," said Alexey Rabin.
The ability to design a lighter engine will help in creating an electric airplane. However, the main problem today is the mass of batteries. Their specific energy intensity compared to hydrocarbon fuel is ten times less, so they need a lot and they have a lot of weight. For this reason, experts began to think about using hybrid engine options, Kirill Belyasny, the creator of electric aircraft, a researcher at MAI, told Izvestia.
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— Of course, the development of MAI scientists deserves attention, since high—temperature superconductors are the material of the future, which can be used in power plants of a new generation, — said Artem Melnikov, a junior researcher at the Department of Electrotechnological and Transformative Engineering of St. Petersburg State Technical University "LETI".
An engine based on superconducting coils is a significant step towards creating an electric aircraft. But today this concept is quite far from being implemented, since the problem of the mass-dimensional characteristics of batteries has not yet been solved, the expert concluded.
Denis Gritsenko
