PI: Yang-Ki Hong, University of Alabama.
Project Description:
(BH)max is a product of remanent flux density (Br) and coercivity (Hci) and the figure of merit of a permanent magnet (PM). An interior permanent magnet synchronous motor is widely adopted due to the high (BH)max of rare-earth permanent magnet (RE-PM). The torque and power densities of a motor depend on the (BH)max. Therefore, a high (BH)max is desired. Despite a high (BH)max of RE-PM, recent price and supply fluctuations of RE elements (REE) become issues on electric machines’ production at fixed low cost with reliable supply. The RE-free PMs, such as MnAl, MnBi, hexaferrite, and Alnico, exhibit moderate (BH)max in 3 -11 MGOe. PMs having (BH)max between 11 (Alnico) and 20 MGOe (Sm-Co) would have significant and various applications in energy conversion technologies, including ET. Accordingly, we propose to develop non-RE permanent magnets to fill the gap between 10 and 20 MGOe.