Saturation control of electric machine
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorsKevin Allan Dooley, Joshua David Bell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention includes an electric alternator/motor having a rotor, stator and at least one winding in the stator adapted to conduct a current, the machine also having and first and second magnetic circuits, one of which includes a saturable portion in which saturation may be controlled to permit control of the machine.
Claims11
An electric machine operable as at least one of an electric alternator/generator and an electric motor, the machine having a rotor and a stator assembly, the stator assembly including at least a stator electrical winding, the machine comprising:
- a first magnetic circuit defined in the rotor and stator and encircling at least a first portion of the stator winding;
- a second magnetic circuit defined in the stator assembly and encircling at least a second portion of the stator winding, the second magnetic circuit being remote from the first magnetic circuit and from the rotor, the second magnetic circuit including a portion which is magnetically saturable;
- and
- a saturation control apparatus adapted to controllably varying a saturation level of said saturable portion.
A method of regulating operation of an electrical machine, the method involving at least one electric machine having a magnetic rotor, a stator and at least one stator winding, the winding associated with a primary magnetic circuit defined by the rotor and stator, the winding also associated with a secondary magnetic circuit defined in the stator, the secondary magnetic circuit being remote from the first magnetic circuit and from the rotor, the second magnetic circuit including a magnetically saturable portion, the method comprising the steps of:
- operating the machine to provide at least one of generated output electrical power in the winding and motive power as a result of current supplied to the winding, and controllably varying a saturation level of a portion of the secondary magnetic circuit to thereby control operation of the machine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.