Aircore: a Different Approach to Axial Flux

Dean Sigler Announcements, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Aircore Mobility’s press release from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas headlines, “Sustainable, air core, axial flux, liquid cooled e-mobility motor achieves superior power density and efficiency to extend vehicle range for applications that drive, fly or sail” The company promotes its efficiency, high current density, and economy of manufacturing as prime factors in its success.  The printed circuit board (PCB) stator is claimed to be 10 times more reliable than a conventional stator, smaller, and lighter.  By replacing the iron core of a conventional motor with a PCB stator, “Mechanical losses are reduced, efficiency is increased and noise and vibration are significantly reduced.” Several stator/rotor combinations can be “stacked” with a single housing to allow greater power outputs. Cooling is an important element in the motor.  Aircore uses a liquid cooling technique, “That allows the coolant to be in direct contact with the stator, mitigating heat across a larger surface area, enabling high overload capability and extended …

Magnax Motor Claim Impressive Power-to-Weight Ratios

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

Echoing, in this editor’s mind, the collaboration between Oxford University and YASA motors, a recently announced motor from Belgium’s Ghent University and Magnax, makers of what they term an “axial flux machine.”  Similar to YASA’s products, the motors are yokeless, which the makers claim promotes lower weight and the shortest possible flux path. Beyond this feature, the motor/generators offer “A patented system for cooling the windings, for the lowest possible stator temperatures.”  According to Magnax, their Dual permanent magnet rotors give “the highest possible torque-to-weight ratio.”  Rectangular section copper wire fills more area than round wire and concentrated windings allow “the lowest possible copper losses (no coil overhangs).”  Grain-oriented electric steel lowers “core losses by as much as 85-percent.” The company’s white paper gives graphic and written explanations as to why these factors enable the Magnax motors to achieve 96-percent efficiency.  While the company compares their motors to large, stationary industrial motors which apply radial flux to their operation, it might be …