MQP DCP 1-2012: Magnetic Braking

Michael Scanlon Advisor: David Planchard

Co-Advisor: Alexander Emanuel

Eddy Current Brake This design is intended to be used as an

electric motor - eddy current brake system

The significance of this system is automotive applications

Background Research

Began with a concept Rollercoasters use eddy current brakes to slow

the car

Idea blossomed to encompass vehicles

Background Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Professor Alexander Emanuel was

recruited to explain and help conceptualize properties

Lorentz Forces

Self-taught ECE Had not taken an Electrical and Computer

Engineering course at WPI

Why?… Efficiency System is designed to be used in automotive

applications

“No Wear” brake This is not a friction brake No material wear

Highly Efficient

Already used on trains

Why?… Safety System can be managed by available hardware

and software (ABS, Traction Control, and Stability Control systems)

Simplifies the management systems – entire vehicle can be controlled by a laptop size computer

Real time system corrections – speed of electricity

Why?… Application Large truck applications (18 wheel trucks)

We could design a truck to have independent wheel electric motor – eddy current brake setups on all axles

Design truck’s trailer to have motor – brake on axle

Large vehicle can contain large batteries Vehicle travels at speed most of the time –

this means that the motors will not have to work hard Regenerative technology Turning off motors while at speed to generate power and recharge batteries

Quiet Trucks!

Design Prototype #1

Cons Costly to build Unsafe to test Variables

unaccounted for

Prototype #2 Cons

No real world variables

Difficult to simulate a flywheel/ motion of a vehicle

Construction Machining

All machining was done by myself – although I did have assistance from the Washburn Shops faculty and everyday students (Grads and Undergrads)

Turning Steel Copper

3 – Axis Milling

Wood Steel Copper

Construction Coiling

Each of the 4 coils had to be coiled by hand

Each layer of coils had to layered with epoxy

Coiled 180x each Wood core mold needed to

be constructed

How it works Automotive Application 1. Motor spins to full RPM – car accelerates 2. Motor is shut off – as brake pedal is

applied 3. Eddy current brake is powered up to a

calculated current – determined by brake pedal

4. As brake become ineffective motor is powered in reverse – bringing the vehicle to a stop

5. Additional mechanical brake is applied as a Parking Brake

How it works Testing Procedure

The experiment will run as follows: 1. The motor will be spun up to full RPM

(around 3400 RPM) 2. The attached DC motor will begin

recording the voltage output and a baseline reading will be determined

3. The motor will then be shut off (as to not interfere with the eddy current brake)

4. The eddy current brake will then be powered at a pre-determined interval (the power intervals are in units of Amps)

5. The output voltage from the DC motor will then be recorded with respect to time (obtaining deceleration)

6. This test will be repeated for multiple power intervals

The experiment should produce a velocity graph similar to this one. The force is directly proportional to the velocity and as such the velocity will decrease but never reach zero.

Expected Outcomes:

Conclusion This system can make a difference in the

simplicity and efficiency of modern vehicles

Electricity is the most abundant and renewable resource available

These properties have been proven in real world application for years

Major Setbacks: Power storage available High amperage batteries with large

capacity Changing everybody's minds about electric

vehicles

References Images not taken by myself are Google images Special Thanks to:

Professor Alexander Emanuel Torbjorn Bergstrom Neil Whitehouse Adam Sears Corey Stevens James Loiselle Mike Flaherty Other Undergraduate work study students that I relentlessly used as

sounding boards Thank You All for Your Help!