Us 3443134
Us 3443134
Us 3443134
O, DOWSETT ET AL 3,443,134
HOMOPOLAR DYNAMOELECTRIC MACHINE
Filed Feb. 28, 1966 Sheet - M of 2
A77ORNExs
May 6, 1969 B. O, DOWSETT ET AL 3,443,134
HOMOPOLAR DYNAMOELECTRIC MACHINE
Filed Feb. 28, 1966 Sheet a of 2
28
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By 222. -. V%22cc -
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A77OA&MEYs
United States Patent Office 3,443,134
Patented May 6, 1969
1. 2
3,443,134 external current supply source. Members 8, similar in con
HOMOPOLAR DYNAMOELECTRIC MACHINE struction to the members 7 and containing solid contacts
Brian O. Dowsett and Anthony D. Appleton, Newcastle 8a, surround the peripheries of the discs 3 and 4 and the
upon-Tyne, England, assignors to International Research contacts 8a make electrical contact with the peripheries of
&upon-Tyne,
Development Company Limited, Fossway, Newcastle
England 5 the discs. Direct current can thus be passed through the
discs in a radial direction from the contact 7a to the con
Filed Feb. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 530,442 tact 8a.
Claims priority, application Great Britain, Mar. 9, 1965, The stator of the motor comprises a fixed coil 9 formed
10,062/6S of a number of turns of superconducting wire disposed
nt. C. H02k 3 1/02
U.S. C. 310-178 12 Claims O co-axially about the periphery of the rotor. The coil 9 is
located in an annular cryostat 10 which in conventional
manner maintains the coil at the low temperatures neces
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE sary for super-conductivity.
A homopolar machine having superconducting field The passing of direct current through the coil 9 pro
coils is disclosed in which the rotor is of disc form and 5 duces an intense magnetic field, the lines of force of which
in a preferred construction has two conducting discs pass through the discs in a direction substantially parallel
mounted on opposite sides of a support disc. A screening to the axis of rotation of the discs. When direct current
coil, also superconducting, can be arranged outside the is passed through the discs rotation is set up in the rotor
annular field coil which surrounds the rotor. and the machine acts as a motor. Conversely, if the rotor
20 is driven a current is generated in the discs and the ma
chine can be used as a generator. It may also be adapted
This invention relates to homopolar dynamoelectric for use as an electro-magnetic brake.
machines. While in the machine described above, current is trans
According to the invention a homopolar dynamoelectric ferred between
machine includes a rotor having at least one conducting 25 contact betweenthethedisc and the external circuit by rubbing
rotating disc and the fixed solid con
path for electric current, a stator having super-conducting tacts, other methods may be used. For example, the chan
coils providing a magnetic field which is cut by the con nel members 7 and 8 may contain a conductive liquid
ducting path upon rotation of the rotor, and means for such as mercury which is retained by suitable sealing
transferring current between the conducting path and an means. Conventional contact brushes may also be used.
external circuit. 30 The machine shown in section in FIG. 2 has a disc rotor
The rotor may take the form of a disc or drum or a plu 11 mounted on a rotor shaft 12 which is overhung by ar
rality of discs or drums mounted on a common shaft. The
super-conducting coils preferably surround the periphery disc. Thisshaft
ranging bearings 13 and 14 on the same side of the
bearing arrangement facilitates assembly of the
of the rotor and are co-axial with it. machine. The rotor 11 carries discs 15 and 16 of elec
The whole of the rotor may be an electrically-conduct trically-conducting material which are attached to the
ing body or it may be of non-conducting material sup rotor 11 by insulating bolts 17. The disc 15 has inner
porting electrically-conductive material providing the cur and outer cylindrical flanges 18 and 19 respectively and
rent path or paths. the disc 16 has corresponding flanges 20 and 21. Each
The means for transferring current between a conduct of the flanges 18 to 21 is in engagement with a series of
ing path and external source of supply may be of the solid 40 brushes 22 arranged around the flange. Each brush 22 is
contact or liquid contact type. In the case of the solid carried by a bracket 23 and biassed into engagement with
contact type the current transfer may be through brushes the flange by a constant force spring 24. It is connected
and slip rings and in the liquid contact type between a to the external circuit in conventional manner by a
solid contact and a liquid contact for example mercury. lead 25.
A dynamoelectric machine in accordance with the in As in the construction of FIG. 1 a super-conducting
vention may be used as a generator, supplying current coil 26 is arranged around the periphery of the rotor with
to the external circuit upon rotation of the rotor, or as a cryostat 27. In this machine ferromagnetic pole-pieces
a motor, producing rotation of the rotor when current 28 are arranged on either side of the rotor in planes
is supplied by the external circuit. parallel to the plane of the support disc 11. The ferro
The invention will now be described in more detail with magnetic material forms only a small part of the magnetic
the aid of examples illustrated in the accompanying draw circuit. Since the superconducting coil 26 provides a very
ings in which: high magnetising field the material of pole pieces 28 is
FIG. 1 shows a partially-sectioned view in perspective in a saturated state and the relative permeability is greater
of a homopolar motor in accordance with the invention,
and than unity. There is therefore a considerably higher flux
55 density in the ferro-magnetic material than that which
FIG. 2 shows a diagrammatic section of a second form would exist in air alone for the same magnetising force,
of homopolar machine in accordance with the invention. and the present invention makes use of this effect to boost
Referring first to FIG. 1, the motor has a steel rotor the field in the vicinity of the pole-pieces due to the super
shaft 1 carrying an integral support disc 2. Discs 3 and conducting coil.
4 of electrically-conducting material are mounted on op 60 Pole-pieces for the purposes described may assume a
posite sides of the disc 2 by means of insulating spacers variety of shapes depending in part upon the geometry
5. The spacers 5 are shaped to form fan vanes to assist of the super-conducting coil. In the machine shown in
the circulation of cooling air over the faces of the discs FIG. 2, the pole-piece 28 essentially comprise discs of
3 and 4 as the rotor rotates. solid ferro-magnetic material placed coaxial with the
motor rotor in planes which are parallel to the rotor. In
Each of the discs 3 and 4 has a central aperture bounded 65 some
by a cylindrical wall 6 integral with the disc. The outer applications, pole-pieces constructed of a number of
edge of the wall 6 is bent outwards at 90 to form a radi sections of ferro-magnetic material may be used.
ally-extending ring contact element 6a. The contact rings giveThethedistance maximum
between the discs may be optimised to
boost in magnetic field strength at the
6a are surrounded by channel-shaped members 7 having periphery of the machine rotor 11. In general, the optimum
solid contacts 7a therein which engage the contact ring 6a 70 distance is small, and it is therefore necessary to provide
to establish electrical contact between the rotor and an spacers 29 between the pole-pieces, as shown, in order to
3,443,134 4
3. 6. A machine as claimed in claim 5, including a sup
ake up the high force of attraction which is developed port disc on which the disc of electrically-conducting ma
between them. The spacers 29 may be of magnetic or non terial is mounted.
magnetic material. 7. A machine as claimed in claim 6 including a second
In order to reduce the magnitude of the magnetic field electrically-conducting disc mounted on said support disc
strength in regions where the magnetic field is not usefully 5 on the opposite side thereof to the first said disc.
2mployed, a superconducting screening coil or coils may 8. A machine as claimed in claim 6 in which the disc
be used. FIG. 2 shows, for example, a super-conducting of electrically-conducting material is mounted on the sup
screening coil 30, within a cryostat 31 which serves to port disc by way of electrically-insulating spacing mem
reduce the effect of the magnetic field of the super-con bers.
ducting coil 26 external to the machine. Such a screening O 9. A machine as claimed in claim 8 in which the spac
coil may be required to diminish interference with any ing members are shaped to assist circulation of cooling
equipment situated in the vicinity of the machine. gas over the surface of the discs.
The super-conducting screen coil or coils may be com 10. A machine as claimed in claim 5 including bodies
pletely sealed with no external connections and receive of magnetic material disposed in planes substantially par
current through the medium of the mutual inductance with allel to the plane of said electrically-conducting disc to
the main field coil. concentrate the magnetic field of the super-conducting coil
In another embodiment the disc or discs may be of in the region of said disc.
non-electrically-conducting material and have current 11. A machine as claimed in claim 5 in which the
carrying members formed thereon or attached thereto. electrically-conducting disc has an axially-extending
Instead of a rotor comprising one or more discs a drum peripheral flange and the means for transferring current
type rotor may be used and the rotor may be cylindrical comprise solid conducting brushes in contact with the
in form or have other shapes such as a conical or inner face of the said flange.
truncated conical shape. 12. A homopolar electrical machine including a rotor
In the case of the disc type rotor the discs may be in the form of at least one pair of discs of electrically
flat or dish-shaped. conducting material mounted for rotation on a common
The current supply for the machine when used as a shaft, each disc of a pair being insulatedly mounted on
motor may be derived from a similar machine operated a common support disc but spaced therefrom, there being
as a generator. a disc on each side of the support disc, spacing members
Alternatively, the current supply for the machine when in the spaces between each disc and its support member,
used as a motor may be derived from a magnetohydro a Super-conducting coil disposed around the periphery of
dynamic generator. the rotor, discs of magnetic material disposed on the side
We claim: of each electrically-conducting disc remote from the sup
1. A homopolar electrical machine including a rotor port disc, further spacing members located between the
having at least one conducting path for electric current, discs of magnetic material to hold them apart axially, a
a stator having superconducting coils providing a magnetic further Super-conducting coil acting as a screening coil
field which is cut by the conducting path upon rotation surrounding the first-mentioned coil, and cryostat means
of the rotor, said stator having a cryostat enclosing said enclosing said super-conducting coils to maintain them in
Super-conducting coils to maintain them in super-conduct Super-conducting state.
ing state, and means for transferring current between the 40
conducting path and an external circuit. References Cited
2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 including bodies UNITED STATES PATENTS
of magnetic material interposed in the magnetic field pro
duced by the super-conducting coil to concentrate said 3,185,877 5/1965 Sears --------------- 31-78
field in selected regions. 3,242,418 3/1966 Mela et al. ---------- 31O-52
3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the means 45 3,261,210 7/1966 Buchhold ------------ 308-10
for transferring current comprises solid brushes in con 3,368,087 2/1968 Madsen ------------- 310-52
tact with slip rings connected to the conducting path.
4. A machine as claimed in claim 1 comprising super MILTON O. HIRSHFIELD, Primary Examiner.
conducting screening coils arranged to reduce the mag 50
netic field in selected regions and cryostat means enclosing L. L. SMITH, Assistant Examiner.
said screening coils to maintain them in super-conducting U.S. Cl. X.R.
State.
5. A homopolar electrical machine as claimed in claim 310-52
1 in which the rotor comprises at least one disc of elec 55
trically-conducting material.