Abstract
The development of electrostatic rotating machines for macroscale power conversion has been largely sidestepped, given the uncertainty of its capabilities and place in the technological hierarchy. This article reviews prior and present works in macroscale electrostatic rotating machinery and identifies the relevant machine types, their limitations, and strategies for performance improvement. The separately excited synchronous electrostatic machine presents the greatest opportunity for competitive macroscale category-two machinery, and a strategy of multiplicative gains is established. The strategy spans machine modeling, optimization, gap media (gases, liquids, and vacuum), gap maintenance, advanced manufacturing techniques, and power electronic drives/control. Ultimately, the product of innovation gains across all these areas reveals that macroscale electrostatic machinery is possible and potentially competitive with magnetic machinery for specific areas, including position and hold, low-speed direct drive, and high-voltage utility generation applications.
Highlights
In the year 1748, Benjamin Franklin constructed a device capable of converting static electricity into rotary motion, i.e. the first electric motor [1]
This paper examines “modern” efforts in macroscale rotating electrostatic machines and frames progress through a multi-physics perspective spanning modeling, optimization, materials, manufacturing, power electronics and controls
While electrostatic machines are ubiquitous at the micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) scale, they are not the focus of this paper, and will be discussed only when overlap between these communities merits elucidation
Summary
In the year 1748, Benjamin Franklin constructed a device capable of converting static electricity into rotary motion, i.e. the first electric motor [1] His accomplishment occurred 73 years before Michael Faraday’s magnetic homopolar motor captured the world’s imagination in 1821. This paper examines “modern” efforts (mostly 1900 forward) in macroscale rotating electrostatic machines and frames progress through a multi-physics perspective spanning modeling, optimization, materials, manufacturing, power electronics and controls. Evidence of multiplicative gains is used to showcase the stratagems that are closing the orders of magnitude performance deficiencies between electrostatic and magnetic machines at the macro-scale and is the primary contribution of this paper. Numerical performance metrics for all the machine references are available in Appendix I
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