Lightweight Machines for Sustainable Transport
by Chris Gerada of University of Nottingham

Lightweight electrical machines are a key enabler for future propulsion systems for sustainable transportation. These have to however also be highly efficient, reliable and cost effective. This presentation will provide an overview of recent developments in materials, technology and manufacturing processes together with a number of case studies demonstrating the impact of these developments on key performance metrics. An overview of recent investments by Nottingham on dedicated manufacturing, test and validation facilities will also be presented.

Sustainable Sourcing for Future Aerospace
by Al Lambourne of Rolls Royce

Hybrid aerospace propulsion offers the opportunity for a step change in propulsion efficiency, reduced emissions and new classes of aircraft. However the materials to deliver electrical & hybrid technologies are a radical departure from the existing gas turbine supply chain and bill of materials. The aerospace industry needs to understand, control and manage a suite of new materials through their operational life to satisfy aircraft safety and certification requirements. This talk will highlight some of the key materials, the difficulty of substitution in aerospace, the importance of control & ethical sourcing and the need for recycling & end-of life asset management.

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Superconducting Motors for Light Weighted Aviation Propulsion
by Min Zhang of University of Strathclyde

To achieve a zero-emission aviation, aerospace is evolving towards electrified propulsion using clean electricity or hydrogen as an energy source. Achieving a 20–40 MW electrical powertrain for commercial aircraft requires multi-MW scale machines with power densities above 20 kW/kg. High temperature superconductors (HTS) offer a ground-breaking and transformative way to increase the power density of electrical machines, as the current carrying capability can be more than 200 times that of room temperature conductors and more than 80 times that of cryogenic normal-state conductors. As a result, superconducting machines have become a key research focus for aviation. This presentation summarizes the ongoing research efforts in the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory at the University of Strathclyde, where two large development projects for HTS motors ( 200 kW and 100 kW) are underway. Our design will focus on maximizing the machine power density and efficiency using both HTS rotor and HTS stator. Preliminary testing results for both HTS rotor and HTS stator will be presented, with a focus on reducing AC loss of HTS stator and charging of the HTS rotor.

Prospects of New Winding Manufacturing Processes in Lightweighting Electrical Machines
by Phil Mellor; Nick Simpson of Bristol University

The electrification of ground and air transport in pursuit of Carbon Net Zero is driving the need for ever more powerful and lightweight electrical machines. This presentation will explore power density and reliability improvements that could result from rethinking how we manufacture high performance electrical machine windings, and will be illustrated with examples of metal additive manufacturing of windings and the use of composite materials to realise an air-gap winding stator.

Low-Cost, High-Speed Starter Motor / Generator for a Helicopter Engine
by Ben Catchpole of NEMA

NEMA are developing a low-cost, high-speed motor generator unit (MGU) for a new “best-in-class” 500HP gas-turbine engine (GT50). The GT50 has been designed specifically for the HX50, a cutting-edge helicopter which will be built in the UK for a target base price of £595,000. NEMA have developed numerous high-speed MGU’s for aircraft in recent years, but the hardware for this program is particularly sensitive to cost. This talk will present the GT50 MGU, which has been designed to meet the challenging requirements of the helicopter engine whilst also allowing for economic manufacturing techniques from the outset – two typically opposing paradigms of development.

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Challenges in Design and Manufacture of High Power Density Motors for Aircraft Propulsion Applications
by Tadashi Sawata of Collins

his presentation discusses examples of MW class high power density motors being developed for aircraft propulsion at Collins Aerospace. Unique challenges with such motors in design, manufacturing and industrialization will be discussed. Topics include machine topology selection, cooling system design, material selection, insulation system design and manufacturability improvement towards industrialization.

Advancing Electric Motors with Additive Manufacturing
by Ollie Hartfield of Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)

The drive to net zero has created a necessity for electric motors to target a wider range of applications. Where higher performance is required, efficiency is key and therefore the design and manufacture need to enable a high degree of optimisation. Conventional manufacturing routes limit design freedom and the potential for improvements to power density and efficiency. However, the design freedoms of Additive Manufacturing (AM) provides a disruptive opportunity for a step-change improvement in the performance of Electric Motors. This presentation will showcase the current possibilities of Additive Manufacturing for the next generation of electric motor components - from light weight housings, improved thermal management and more optimised winding geometries.

Optimised Powertrain Design for Motorsport Applications
by Jonathan Blissett of WAE

High performance electrical machines and power-dense inverters are becoming commonplace in motorsport, especially in Formula E (FE) – a single seater racing series for electric cars. Motorsport provides an ideal platform to experiment with ideas from research and put them to the test in a harsh environment. This presentation discusses the design process of an FE powertrain, including some of the specific challenges and decisions unique to this performance focused application.

Propulsion Motor Fault Case Analysis by Co-simulation
by Giovanni Raimondi of Safran Electrical & Power

An overview of electrical propulsion technology development and a deeper-dive into turn-to-turn short circuit analysis by co-simulation of functional real-time models and detailed Finite Element models.

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