1

Perry Tsao, Matt Senesky, Seth Sanders

University of California, Berkeley Perrys thesis defense presented
www-power.eecs.berkeley.edu May 15, 2003

A Homopolar Inductor Motor/Generator and
Six-step Drive Flywheel Energy Storage
System

2
Flywheel Energy Storage System
Prototype design goals
30 kW (40 hp)
15 s discharge
500 kJ (140 W-hr)
1 kW/kg (30 kg, 66 lbs.)

Integrated
Flywheel
Flywheel Rotor Motor Stator
Bearings Containment
3
Flywheels
Integrated flywheel
Single-piece solid steel rotor
Combines energy storage and
electromagnetic rotor
Motor housing provides
Vacuum containment
Burst containment

Integrated
Flywheel
Flywheel Rotor Motor Stator
Bearings Containment
4
Homopolar Inductor Motors (HIM)
Side view
Top view
Bottom view
Cross-sections

Rotor for HIM
5
Armature Winding Construction

Bladder

FR4

Arm. Windings
FR4

Stator Inner
Bore
6
Six-Step Drive
Six-step
PWM impractical at max speed (6.7 kHz)
Lower switching losses
Field winding compensates for fixed voltage
Potential problems
Harmonic currents
Harmonic rotor core losses
Controlled by adjusting armature inductance

7
Six-Step Drive
Charging
(motoring)
Discharging
(generating)
25,000 rpm, 1kW operating point
8
Efficiency Tests

9
Efficiency Measurements
10
MEMS REPS Project
MEMS Rotary Engine
Power System
Concept
Replace conventional batteries
with rotary engine and
generator plus fuel
Specifications
Goal is to provide 10-100mW
Need ~10% system efficiency
with octane fuel to beat
batteries
Engine/ Generator
Package
Concept Unit
Generator
Matthew Senesky
Seth Sanders, Al Pisano
11
Design
Electroplated
NiFe poles allow
engine rotor to be
used as generator
rotor
Axial-flux
configuration
Claw pole stator
made from
powdered iron
Toroid
Core
Pole Faces
Rotor
Coil
Permanent
Magnet
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
millimeters
Bottom Plate
Top Plate
Side
Plate
Side
Plate
12
Construction
Stator pole faces cut with EDM
Stator core, coil (with bobbin) and toroid.
250 m
2.2 mm
Partial stator assembly
Steel test rotor Microfabricated Si rotor
1 cm
2.4 mm 2.4 mm
Dr. A. Knobloch, 2003
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Preliminary Results
Open circuit voltage of 150V/turn in 112 coil at 500 Hz
Expect to improve this by factor of 4-5
Low-Cost Distributed
Solar-Thermal-Electric
Power Generation
A. Der Minassians,
K. H. Aschenbach,
S. R. Sanders

Power Electronics Research Group
University of California, Berkeley
Introduction
Photovoltaic (PV) technology
Efficiency: up to about 15%
Cost: about $5/W
peak
Materials cost: about $5/W (with a low profit margin)
Cost reduction limited by cost of silicon area
No alternative for small-scale off-grid applications
Technology similar to PV but at lower cost would see
widespread acceptance
View is that unit cost ($/W) is paramount
Many untapped siting opportunities

Possible Plan
Solar-Thermal Collection
Low-concentration non-imaging collector
Low maintenance
Low cost: sheet metal, glass cover, plumbing
Proven technology
Low temperature
Thermal-Electric Conversion
Stirling heat engine: Theoretically achieves Carnot
efficiency, can achieve large fraction of Carnot eff.
Low cost: Bulk metal and plastic
Linear electric generator (high efficiency & low cost)
Representative Diagram
Stirling Engine
Insulated Pipe
Collectors
Pump
Heater
Cooler
System Efficiency
Collector (linearized)
Engine (2/3 Carnot eff.)
System (overall)
Collector (nonlinear)
Comparative Cost Analysis
Cost goal set by PV is under $5/W !!!
Peak insolation = 800 W/m
2
System optimal efficiency = 10%
ignore engine cost
Cost of collector must be less than $400/m
2

For solar-thermal-electric system
Market Available Collectors
Assumes engine achieves 2/3 Carnot, ambient is
27

C, and engine cost is negligible

Even at retail (500 m
2
qty) prices and low
system efficiency, some collectors achieve costs
less than $5/W

Collector Model

U
[W/m
2
K]
T
m(opt)
[
o
C]

sys(opt)
[%]
CPA
STC
[$/m
2
]
CPW
sys
[$/W]
Thermo Dynamics G Series 74 5.247 79 3.9 194 6.27
Arcon HT 79 3.796 101 5.8 142 3.07
AOSOL CPC 1.5X 75 4.280 90 4.7 158 4.16
SOLEL CPC 2000 1.2X 91 4.080 106 6.9 193 3.49
Flate Plate Collectors
CPC-based Collectors
Cost Analysis: Collector
Cost breakdown of commercial collector for hot water
Collector Material
Mass [kg/m
2
]
Specific Cost [$/kg]
Cost [$/m
2
]
Low-Iron Cover Glazing 7.8 1.87 14.60
Sheet Aluminum 2.75 6.00 16.50
Sheet Copper 1.26 6.35 8.00
Fiberglass Insulation 1.2 0.83 1.00
Total 13 N/A 40.10
Material cost is $0.71/W;
High-volume manuf. cost?
Based on a complete system efficiency of 6.9%...
Stirling Engine: Basics
Closed gas circuit
Working fluid: air, hydrogen, helium
Compress Displace Expand Displace
Skewed phase expansion and compression spaces needed
Heater / Cooler: wire screens
Regenerator: woven wire screens

Stirling Engine: Losses
Heater / Cooler
Fluid flow friction
Ineffectiveness (temperature drop)
Regenerator
Fluid flow friction
Ineffectiveness (extra thermal load)
Static heat loss (extra thermal load)
Use free diaphragms as pistons = No surface
friction, No leakage, No mechanical coupling!
Carnot
Engine
Rejected heat at
cooler
(294.6 W @ 300 K)
246.3 W
5 K temp. drop
332.7 W
8 K temp. drop
Injected heat at
heater
(366.9 W @ 420 K)
8
6
.
4

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Leakage through
regenerator housing
(13.9 W)
Leakage due to
regenerator ineffectiveness
(27.8 W)
Output power
(72.3 W)
Eff.=19.7%
Stirling Engine: Power Balance
Expansion space (Hot)
Heater (Hot)
Regenerator
Cooler (Cold)
Compression space (Cold)
Diaphragm piston
Rigid Linkage
Cantilever beam (spring)
Diaphragm
Single Stirling engine in
three-phase system
Stirling Engine: Multiple-Phase
Stirling Engine: Simulation
Stirling Engine: Simulation
Cost Analysis: Stirling Engine
Cost for a representative 200W Stirling engine
Engine Material
Mass [kg]
Specific Cost [$/kg]
Cost [$]
Cast Aluminum 4.8 5.50 26.40
Copper Wire 3.5 10.00 35.00
Total 8.3 N/A 61.40
Engine cost is $0.31/W
System cost: about $1/W
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Prototype 3-Phase Stirling Machine
30
Heater/Cooler and Regenerator
Conclusion
Low-cost distributed solar-thermal-electricity
possible with standard solar hot water
collectors and low temperature Stirling heat
engine
Prototype experiments in progress