Oxford team exploits properties of metamaterials

Many researchers are exploring the field of metamaterials, which gain their unique properties from their structure, rather than the fundamental characteristics of the material from which they are composed. While much research to date has focused on the use of such materials for the manipulation of high-frequency electrical fields, less attention has been paid to how they might be used in power conversion equipment at lower frequencies in the hundreds of kilohertz range.

But Dr Chris Stevens, an Oxford University fellow and tutor in engineering science, believes there is a great opportunity to exploit metamaterials in such applications. His research aims to demonstrate the advantages and benefits of using them to build lightweight transformers and electric motors.

Traditional electrical transformers work through the principle of electromagnetic induction. A simple transformer comprises two windings that are wrapped around a core of a ferromagnetic material, such as iron. A varying current in the primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer’s core and thus a varying current in the secondary winding.