A doctoral student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, is studying the use of magnetic gears and their advantages over the traditional mechanically geared machines. (Texas A&M University College of Engineering)

Renewable energy sources, such as wind and wave, can power our world. Currently, mechanical gears are used inside of these energy-conversion systems to connect a high-speed electric machine to a low-speed physical energy source. Improving the design of the systems that convert these sources into electrical energy has far-reaching benefits.

Matthew Gardner, a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, is studying the use of magnetic gears and their advantages over the traditional mechanically geared machines.

Just like mechanical gears, magnetic gears transform rotational power between different speeds and torques, but instead of physically interlocking teeth, they use magnetic fields. By using magnets to transmit torque between the input and output shafts of the gear, they avoid mechanical contact. This provides a number of advantages such as reduced maintenance, reduced acoustic noise and vibrations, and improved overall reliability.

If too much torque is applied to mechanical gears, they may break; if the same happens to magnetic gears, the magnets will simply slip past each other without causing any damage.

In regard to wind and wave energy, some gearing is necessary in machines to avoid the use of an extremely large and expensive generator. For example, special turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind and water into power. Gearboxes within these mechanically geared systems are subject to severe loads and are often in locations where it is extremely expensive to replace or repair a failed gearbox. With the use of magnetic gears, the cost of maintenance would be significantly reduced.

“Magnetic gears drew my interest because they represent a potentially disruptive innovation in the field of electric machines,” Gardner said. “Much of the research in electric machines represents incremental improvements on the technology that has been developed over the last few hundred years.”

However, magnetic gears are a relatively new area of research and are currently not an industry accepted alternative to mechanical gears. Gardner looks to change that.

He has worked on a project, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, that reduced the cost of wave energy using magnetic gears. Together with the power and automation company ABB, Gardner and his team built a magnetically geared machine prototype that is one of the largest in the world for its particular set of properties. This machine is rated for about 4,000 Newton meters of torque. To put that into perspective, most magnetic gears and magnetically geared machine prototypes in literature are rated for less than 150 Newton meters.

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Donation of a new wind turbine will boost alternative-energy research and educational opportunities at the University of Dayton Research Institute’s Energy Experience Center.

Donation of a new wind turbine will boost alternative-energy research and educational opportunities at the University of Dayton Research Institute’s (UDRI‘s) Energy Experience Center (EEC).

The 6-kW turbine, valued at more than $25,000, was donated by OGW Energy Resources of Tipp City, OH. It will be installed in UDRI’s EEC electrical microgrid, opened in 2017 to serve as a test bed and demonstration and training facility for new and emerging energy technologies.

Located on the grounds of UD’s River Campus, the 25,000-square-foot Energy Experience Center features two wind turbines, solar panels, a portable generator, AC motor control centers, and advanced batteries for energy storage.

“We envision the Energy Experience Center to eventually be a showcase of best-in-class technologies in energy generation, storage, controls, efficiency, cyber-security, monitoring, and load management,” said Eric Lang, a senior research scientist in UDRI’s Energy Technologies and Materials division. “The generous donation by OGW will play an important role in helping us reach that goal.”

The Energy Experience Center microgrid is designed to generate its own power, and advanced batteries will collect and store extra energy produced by solar panels and wind turbines to provide DC power when sun and wind are scarce. The center also features a dedicated connection to the local Dayton Power & Light (DP&L) commercial grid, which supplies electricity for tests requiring extra power. The center also feeds power back to the DP&L grid when its various generators are producing more power than is being consumed by the center.

“The future will bring a major shift in the way power is supplied,” Lang said. “The energy industry and military communities, along with individual consumers, are increasingly looking to adopt newer, more efficient, and sustainable energy technologies. We’re also going to see energy increasingly supplied through distributed generation, where power is produced and stored in microgrids close to the site of consumption, and decreasingly from conventional centralized power stations.  The development of resilient energy sources and technologies that can help ensure grid stability in harsh environments is more important than ever. Our goal is to provide the research, development, and technology validation to help our customers achieve those goals.”

Lang said the EEC will use advanced computer programs and hardware to simulate a variety of weather conditions, energy scenarios, and power sources (such as solar and wind) when they’re not available. Simulations at the EEC will also allow researchers to run critical tests — initiating a complete power failure, for instance — without actually interrupting operations at a functioning grid.

Lang said the new wind turbine will be used in research, development, and teaching related to advanced electrical power-conversion technology. Researchers will connect a variable-speed electric motor to drive the turbine — rather than relying on unpredictable Ohio weather — to produce precisely controlled weather scenarios and feed the resulting power into the grid through various conversion devices.

In addition to providing research and development services for customers, the Energy Experience Center will eventually serve as an educational resource for University of Dayton faculty and students for classes and research — a significant reason for OGW’s donation of the turbine, said OGW President Ray Davis.

“The donation of this turbine will provide opportunities for UD students to engage in education and research in technologies that will address real world challenges,” Davis said. “And because of our deep roots in the community and with UD, this donation is special because one of our partners is an alumnus, and another has three children who are currently attending or alumni. We’re proud to lead the way in the renewable- and sustainable-energy industry and will continue to support organizations like the University of Dayton throughout Ohio and the Midwest.”

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Njordguard is an integrated protection system that protects offshore windfarm power cables in wind-turbine generators and offshore substation platforms.

Trelleborg’s offshore operation will showcase NjordGuard, a cable-protection system for offshore wind cables, at the International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE 2018).

Njordguard is an integrated protection system that protects offshore windfarm power cables in wind-turbine generators and offshore substation platforms. It features easy installation and high abrasion resistance. Its API 17L-certified Uraduct material enables it to travel over the seabed without damage, and it can be installed, reused, and removed without diver and remote-operated-underwater-vehicle intervention.

“Our proven expertise in offshore and renewables give us a better understanding of the real needs faced by our customers,” said Andy Smith, business manager for developing markets for Trelleborg’s offshore operation. “Through knowledge transfer, we are able to use our experience and expertise in more established industries to tackle challenges within the power-generation sector head on.”

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