2022 Volume 30 Issue 2 Pages 86-93
The newly devised magnetic salient pole type thermomagnetic motor is analyzed using the finite element coupled analysis at the unsteady rotational operation. This thermomagnetic motor can generate torque by creating a temperature distribution with heating and cooling water in a rotor using a temperature-sensitive magnetic material and constructing a magnetic circuit in which permanent magnets are arranged to have magnetic salient poles. Multiple physical phenomena are coupled in driving a thermomagnetic motor, and the conditions for sustaining the operation are complicated. Therefore, sufficient knowledge is available about the rotational process of the rotor in the unsteady state from the stopped state to the steady rotation speed. This study analyzed unsteady rotational motion by the finite element method and examined whether stable driving is possible. It was confirmed that the rotor spontaneously rotates from the stopped state to the steady rotation speed under some heating and cooling temperatures and heat flux conditions. In addition, since it can rotate spontaneously, even if the flow rate of heating and cooling water changes during driving and the temperature distribution of the rotor changes, the temperature distribution of the rotor returns with time evolution due to the coupling of torque and rotation speed. Therefore, it was found that stable driving is possible.
