Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

The project aims to develop novel electric motor topologies by using advanced magnetic materials and manufacturing techniques. The project main tasks will be to identify, design, simulate, build and optimize innovative motor topologies using 3D magnetic flux path designs. These topologies will be enabled by developing simultaneously soft and hard magnetic materials and manufacturing processes. Soft magnetic composites (SMC) offers unique isotropic magnetic properties compared to laminations that can enable several advantages for the fabrication of machines and stators in particular. Using the cold spray process for the fabrication of a M-NdFeB composite, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) have shown that it is possible to build complex shaped permanent magnets that cannot be realized on rotors using traditional fabrication methods. These two materials also offers manufacturing advantages such as reduced part counts and assembly steps that can significantly reduce the cost of the electric motor. Both the advantages of the 3D magnetic flux and the manufacturability will be clearly established in this project by building and testing various prototypes. Rio Tinto Metal Powders (RTMP) of Quebec, Canada, in collaboration with the NRC in Boucherville, QC, will improve the performance and the fabrication process of SMC powder grades while NRC will continue the development of the cold spray permanent magnet technology. The expertise of Concordia University on electric motor design and on finite element analysis will be required to develop permanent magnet motor topologies that would benefit from 3D magnetic flux. The support of Stackpole, a producer of powder metallurgy components, for the fabrication of the prototypes will ensure the achievement of this project objective.