the high efficiency dc motor

a new brushless dc motor that converts electric power to motor output at a conversion of 96% efficiency has been unveiled by researchers at tokai university, japan.

in addition to its high maximum efficiency another notable feature of the motor is its capability to maintain conversion efficiency in the range from 93% to 96% even as the output changes between 50 watts and 200 watts.

‘the idea to improve the efficiency can be applied to high-output motors for electric vehicles,’ said hideki kimura, professor at the department of electrical and electronic engineering, school of engineering at tokai university.

the motor was developed by tracking down the causes of energy loss and making some improvements to reduce the loss. specifically, motor energy loss is attributable to power consumption of the control circuit – controller loss, loss from the coil winding, loss due to current surge in the core – iron loss and loss from rotation axis friction and air resistance.

the downside of this highly efficient motor is its high production costs. due to this, its applications are currently limited to products that require a high efficiency regardless of the high cost, such as eco cars for racing.

tokai university unveils 100w dc motor with 96 percent efficiency ‘faraday’s magic 2’ an eco car for racing equipped with a high efficiency dc motor

this motor can be used on a wide range of applications including refrigerators, electric bicycles and electric motorbikes.

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp