Micro-turbo-generator design and fabrication: A preliminary study
- Advanced Custom Technologies, Mesa, AZ (United States). Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector
The size and weight of portable electronic products are often dictated by the physical characteristics of the power supply system. The design of energy storage systems is therefore critical to market competitiveness. An alternative to energy storage is proposed in this paper which relies on a very small power generation system which converts a pressure difference in a gas into electrical power: a micro-turbo-generator. The design of the micro-turbo-generator involved combining two very different machines, a micro-generator and a micro-turbine, into a single device which could be fabricated within the constraints of current microelectronic processing techniques. Research into power generation on the micro-scale has begun to take place in the form of electromagnetic micro-motor design and fabrication. These variable reluctance machines can be transformed into power generation devices by implementing accurate rotor position sensing, high-speed current switching and a means for inducing rotor motion. This leads to the implementation of a switched reluctance generator, which is well-understood on the macro-scale but has not been attempted on the micro-scale. The most significant hurdle facing researchers is the task of coupling a prime mover, such as a micro-turbine, to the rotor of a power generation device efficiently and effectively while maintaining relative simplicity in the fabrication procedures. The design presented here offers a potential solution to this problem.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 435633
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960805--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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