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Intelligent Motion Focussing on intelligent motor efficiency Some of the answers to the challenges facing electrical motors mean reevaluating the advantages of longknown technologies Reluctance motors for example have been known for over 100 years These either use no magnets or have rotors that use inexpensive ferrites that are more readily available than the rare earth materials used in permanent magnet motors Though they are not as compact or efficient as permanent magnet motors reluctance motors are slightly smaller and significantly more efficient than induction motors through slipfree synchronous running And because the rotors of reluctance motors aren’t conducting current they need less cooling This makes them a good option for replacing induction motors in industrial applications Beyond the choice of motor optimizing efficiency also needs to be tackled at a system level An example would be running a pump at a constant speed and using a valve to regulate the flow An equivalent result could be achieved by controlling motor speed where – although the control is more complicated –energy can be saved Alot of factors have to be balanced from investing more in efficient motors and elaborate control systems to offsetting the lower running costs over the lifetime of the system Tradeoffs in improving inverter efficiency The efficiency of a system is also influenced by the switching losses in the inverter Reducing these can be achieved by faster switching times Silicon carbide or gallium nitride can reduce the losses and the resulting heat by an order of magnitude compared with silicon The tradeoff here is the affect that this can have on the reliability of the motor The voltage reflections at the motor terminal at quicker rise times can result in overvoltages that cause cascading channels of charge Over time this damages the insulation of the motor It also causes a capacitive effect in the motor windings – because of the affect the flow of charge has on the inductance between the terminals and between the winding and the housing Though this might only be for a few microseconds each cycle it impacts the linearity of the voltage distribution in the winding which over time damages the first winding in particular This is a new challenge when using these fastswitching semiconductors which impacts the design of the system to optimize the rise time to avoid damage or by boosting the insulation of the motor to cope While the increased cost of fastswitching inverters is probably an economic problem for industrial applications the benefits can make a difference in E-Mobility solutions Flexibility for supply chain issues Designing drives and systems today is also further complicated by supply chain issues Apart from state control of access to and the subsequent cost of rare earth materials or materials like cobalt that mostly come from politically unstable regions there are the repercussions of transport disruptions – such as the effects of the Ever Given blockage of the Suez Canal in 2021 It can be worth building flexibility into solutions whether this is by using commonly available ferrites in reluctance motors or ensuring a system controller is not contingent on a processor that is only available from a single source This was at the root of the change in the European automotive industry after China restricted access to rare earth metals in the 2010s Even though those material prices are now lower again having developed classical synchronous machines with field windings or induction machines with copper cages – in parallel to permanent magnet drives – means these companies can react to the changing parameters of global trade as necessary Being able to recycle the materials – apart from the environmental benefit – can also contribute to resource independence Volkswagen for example are planning recyclability of battery systems to reuse as input materials in following manufacturing generations Going sensorless It might seem that everything to do with motor and system design is getting more complicated with increasing demands for efficiency and for flexibility to counter potential supply chain issues But there are also trends that can simplify development Improved mathemat-Advances in Intelligent Motion Electrical motors in industry and E-Mobility O Univ Prof Dipl -Ing Dr techn Manfred Schrödl Director of the Institute for Energy Systems and Electrical Drives Technical University Vienna Austria Intelligent motion with its challenges and opportunities is among the focus tracks of this year’s PCIM Europe conference This includes current trends for the application of electrical motors in industry driven by considerations like energy and resource efficiency as well as sustainability E-Mobility has additional needs to reduce volumes and tackle cooling issues Balancing these challenges with investment and running costs are what shape the choice of materials and components and the optimal control of drives covered in this track We take a look at some of these issues here 8 PCIM Magazine 01 2024