Design and technology solutions for high-efficiency high-speed motors

Over the last few decades an increasing sensitivity has been spreading towards energy saving technologies. In particular, as far as electric drives are concerned, a strong demand for high efficiency motors has been raising in many industry sectors. This paper describes the development of an innovative high-efficiency solution for highspeed motors targeted for industrial turbomachinery applications in the 500–1000 kW power range at 10000–15000 rpm The technology presented features a slotless stator and a magnetically-levitated Halbach permanent-magnet rotor. A full-scale motor prototype is being manufactured for the assessment of the proposed technology. Design optimization techniques, based on genetic algorithms and multi-disciplinary analysis tools, have been employed in the prototype design stage to maximize motor efficiency and performance figures. A multilevel cascaded-cell converter with optimized voltage output is under parallel development for motor supply. Prototype full-power and full-speed qualification tests are planned to take place within the current year to demonstrate the effectiveness of the design and technology presented in this paper.