Team takes magnetically geared propulsion motor to sea
More efficient and less polluting marine vessels could result from a UK collaboration to build a new type of motor based on magnetic gears.
The highly efficient, compact and low maintenance motor is being developed for use in marine propulsion as part of a £1.7m project, co-funded by Innovate UK.
The project team - magnetic gear developer Magnomatics, Rolls-Royce and motor specialist ATB Laurence Scott - will design, manufacture and test a 2.5MW Magnetically Geared Propulsion Motor (MGPN), in a bid to prove its capabilities as a marine propulsion system.
The motor will be powered by a magnetic gear, developed by Magnomatics, a spin-out from Sheffield University. The gear, known as the Pseudo Direct Drive (PDD), uses magnetic fields generated by powerful permanent magnets to transmit mechanical power.
The PDD consists of three rings, each separated by an air gap. The outer and inner rings contain permanent magnets, which are arranged in a north-south pattern. A middle ring, consisting of steel segments, alters the magnetic field between the inner and outer rings.
The force of this magnetic field is transferred across the air gap, causing the rings to rotate, without the need for physical contact between each component.
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