Researchers break world record for drive systems
Friday, November 14, 2008 - 10:56
in Physics & Chemistry
In future it can be expected that the drill used in material processing will become even faster and the compressor used for vehicles and airplanes even more compact. In order to drive these rotary applications directly, efficiently and in a controlled fashion, there must be electrical drive systems with the appropriate rpm and engine power. Up to now, industrially-deployed motors have normally reached 250,000 revolutions per minute. Now, however, researchers from ETH Zurich's Department of Power Electronics have developed a drive system in cooperation with its industrial partners that can achieve over 1,000,000 rpm.