Cooling method for the rotor of a superconducting motor

Abstract

Electrification has been proposed as a route to decarbonizing air travel. Conventional electric motors are too heavy to achieve the power densities required for aviation so superconducting motors for aircraft are being developed. Superconductors however, work at cryogenic temperatures, which indispensably require a reliable and efficient cooling mechanism with a cryocooler. The Robinson Research Institute is developing a 3 MW superconducting motor using an HTS (High Temperature Superconductor) rotor operating at 50 K and MgB2 running at near 20 K for the stator. The motor is intended to run at a shaft speed of 4500-6000 rpm to directly drive a ducted fan. A key challenge is the removal of heat from a cryogenic spinning rotor to a stationary refrigerator so it can be rejected at ambient temperatures. Previous motors have utilized externally pumped or thermos-syphoned cryogens to cool the rotor, which require complex rotary seals. The aircraft application demands a compact and low weight solution. This paper presents a novel cooling design where a stationary cryocooler’s cold heat exchanger penetrates the rotor, and the relative motion of the two creates a pumping motion for cold helium gas to transfer heat from the rotor to the cryocooler. The sealing is low pressure and at ambient temperature and pressure with a temperature gradient in the helium adjacent to the cryocooler regenerator. Design and CFD modelling of the concept are presented showing the system can generate sufficient cold helium flow to transfer heat from the rotor to the cryocooler with a small temperature difference, resulting in a compact, efficient, and low-weight rotor cooling method.