Engineering TV : Electromagnetics

Wind Turbine Blade Pitch Control

CurtisEllzey — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Moog provides solutions for both hydraulic and electric blade pitch control. Blade pitch control is the system which monitors and adjusts the inclination angle of the blades and thus controls the rotation speed of the blades. At lower wind speeds, the pitching system leads to an acceleration of the hub rotation speed, while at higher speeds, blade pitch control reduces the wind load on the blades and structure of the turbine. For more information, go to: Moog.

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Slip Rings for Wind Power

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Modern wind turbines require delivery of power and signals to and from the rotating blades by a reliable rotary union assembly. Moog Components Group, a sister operating group of the Moog Industrial Group, provides a line of wind power (WP) products that are designed for this application. Slip Rings, utilizing fiber brush sliding contact technology are “no maintenance” rotary devices for transferring electrical power and signals. This fiber brush contact system eliminates the need for common slip ring maintenance procedures such as vacuuming of brush debris, lubrication, regular inspection for wear, and brush replacement. For more information, go to: Moog.

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Axial Flux Technology for Wind Turbines

CurtisEllzey — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Tom Bowker, CTO of Clean Energy Technologies, describes how their Axial Flux Permanent Magnet (AFPM) technology achieves better efficiencies in wind power generation and is able to produce more power at lower wind speeds due to coreless technology. Where traditional Radial Flux Permanent Magnets (RFPM) orient the magnetic flux outward from the shaft of the turbine, the Axial Flux Permanent Magnet (AFPM) technology works by orienting the magnetic flux along the axis of the turbine shaft. The ability of these generators to eliminate traditional cogging issues makes them ideal candidates for wind turbine applications. For more information, go to: Clean Energy Technologies.

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A House Without Wires

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:00:00 GMT
Imagine charging your cell phone or laptop simply by placing it on the desk or night table in your bedroom or running a flat screen television, a digital clock, and an internally-lit picture frame directly through your living room wall. From the Consumer Electronics Show 2009, Powermat President Ron Ferber discusses the House Without Wires concept, which envisions a socket-less and wire-less environment where electrical power is seamlessly integrated into the daily routine and activities of life. Also watch this episode: Powermat Wireless Charging. For more information, go to: Powermat.

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Powermat Wireless Charging

CurtisEllzey — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:00:00 GMT
Ron Ferber, President of Powermat, talked with Engineering TV at CES 2009 about the Powermat system, which is designed to replace the need to access multiple electrical sockets with the flexibility and freedom of wireless power for real-time powering and charging of electronic devices. The technology utilizes principles of magnetic induction to transmit electrical power via an ultra thin mat embedded in, or overlaid on, any surface or wall, to electronic devices placed upon it. Also watch this episode: A House Without Wires. For more information, go to: Powermat.

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Sixense TrueMotion 3D CAD Interface

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:00:00 GMT
Sixense's TrueMotion interface has some fascinating potential beyond being used as a gaming input device. In Part 3 of this interview, Jeff Bellinghausen, CTO and Chief Architect, demonstrates a CAD interface designed at the Sixense studios that utilizes two TrueMotion controllers working simultaneously to fluidly and accurately manipulate objects in a 3D space, including the ability to rotate, tilt, pan and scale multiple objects with ease. The controllers operate within a magnetic field rather than relying upon accelerometer technology. The degree of accuracy falls to the nearest millimeter, and is updated once every ten milliseconds. Also watch these episodes: Sixense TrueMotion 3D Controller and Sixense TrueMotion Controller Demo.

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Sixense TrueMotion Controller Demo

CurtisEllzey — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:00:00 GMT
Part 2 of Engineering TV's interview with Jeff Bellinghausen at Sixense Entertainment shows the TrueMotion controller in action. Applications include sports such as baseball, football and soccer, a lightsaber demo, and first-person shooter interfaces, amongst others. The TrueMotion 3D controller from Sixense is an input device based on precise tracking within a magnetic field, relative to a base station, and is able to sense movement in six degrees of freedom with millimeter accuracy. Also watch these episodes: Sixense TrueMotion 3D Controller and Sixense TrueMotion 3D CAD Interface.

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Sixense TrueMotion 3D Controller

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:43:00 GMT
In Part 1 of this interview, Engineering TV visited Jeff Bellinghausen, CTO and Chief Architect, at the Sixense studios in Los Gatos, California. Jeff gives us a run-down of their TrueMotion control system. The TrueMotion 3D controller from Sixense is an input device based on precise tracking relative to a base station and is able to react with pinpoint accuracy to movement in six degrees of freedom. Unlike a Wiimote or Sixaxis controller, the TrueMotion controller operates within a weak magnetic field rather than relying upon accelerometer technology. The degree of accuracy falls to the nearest millimeter, and is updated once every ten milliseconds. This results in a fluid, highly accurate input device that could revolutionize PC and console gaming, as well as lead to some fascinating applications in the engineering design, industrial and medical fields. Also watch these episodes: Sixense TrueMotion Controller Demo and Sixense TrueMotion 3D CAD Interface.

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Ferrofluids

CurtisEllzey — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:56:00 GMT
A ferrofluid is a liquid which becomes strongly polarized in the presence of a magnetic field. It is a colloidal mixture comprising extremely small magnetic particles suspended in a liquid. Ferrofluids are composed of nanoscale ferromagnetic, or ferrimagnetic, particles suspended in a carrier fluid, usually an organic solvent or water. The ferromagnetic nano-particles are coated with a surfactant to prevent their agglomeration. Research of colloidal suspensions of fine magnetic particles at Carnegie Mellon University has found applications in biomed sectors.

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RF Plasma Torch Synthesis

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:20:00 GMT
At Carnegie Mellon University, Prof. McHenry's recent efforts have evolved from the study of carbon-coated magnetic nanocrystals produced by the Kratschmer-Huffman carbon arc method and fine particle magnetism in the same. This lead to studies of the plasma torch synthesis of metallic, C-coated, oxide, carbide and nitride nanoparticles. Most recently reactive gas plasma torch synthesis has been used to produce nanocrystalline ferrite materials for high frequency applications. The surface structure, and its influence on properties, is being studied in faceted ferrite nanoparticles.

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Cut Core Power Transformer

CurtisEllzey — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:09:00 GMT
Professor Michael McHenry's team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed nanocomposites for applications with high permeability requirements and with needs for large inductions at high temperatures. Specifically they have developed soft magnetic alloys that exhibit high magnetic induction at temperatures above current operating ranges for commercial devices. Soft magnetic materials face demanding requirements from new, high-performance electronic and power distribution systems. The new systems must operate in high-temperature and high-frequency regimes that are inaccessible to conventional crystalline and amorphous magnetic materials. The need for increased energy efficiency requires reduced power loss from inductive components. Nanocrystalline magnetic materials hold promise for meeting these requirements without resorting to the trade-offs needed when using conventional materials.

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Magnetic Nanomaterials

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:51:00 GMT
At Carnegie Mellon University, The research interests of M. E. McHenry can be broadly categorized as involving the development of an understanding of the magnetic properties of materials. This includes interfacing theoretical and experimental studies of magnetic materials. In this video, Professor McHenry discusses a current research topic, magnetic nanomaterials, or more specifically, magnetic nanocomposites. Magnetic nanocomposites comprised of nano-sized magnetic crystals embedded in an amorphous matrix have been shown to have excellent soft magnetic properties. In particular, amorphous and nanocrystalline materials have been investigated for various soft magnetic applications including transformers and inductive devices.

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Magnetically Actuated Micro-Robots

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:15:00 GMT
Students at Carnegie Mellon University have employed external magnetic fields to controllably position and orient a magnetic micro-robot. They demonstrated this approach in the 2007 and 2008 RoboCup Nanogram Demonstrations. Imagine a mechanical Pelé or David Beckham six times smaller than an amoeba playing with a “soccer ball” no wider than a human hair on a field that can fit on a grain of rice. RoboCup is an annual international competition designed to foster innovations and advances in artificial intelligence and intelligent robotics by using the game of soccer as a testing ground. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) hopes that a competition between the smallest robots in RoboCup history will show the feasibility and accessibility of technologies for fabricating MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS), tiny mechanical devices that are built onto semiconductor chips and are measured in micrometers (millionth of a meter). The CMU team uses five electromagnetic coils surround a working volume, wherein the magnetic micro-robot resides. Four of the coils are in-plane with the micro-robot, and one coil provides an orthogonal clamping force. Large DC magnetic field gradients are developed using the coils, which employs a force onto the micro-robot. The robot also experiences a magnetic torque; combined with a pulsed magnetic field, the micro-robot experiences a continuously rocking motion. This, in effect, induces stick-slip behavior in the robot resulting in translation. By varying the pulsing frequency, control of micro-robot velocity is achieved.

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