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Low AC-loss MgB2 Superconductors for Turbo-Electric Aircraft Propulsion Systems

Award Information
Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Branch: N/A
Contract: NNX09CC75P
Agency Tracking Number: 084953
Amount: $100,000.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: A2.01
Solicitation Number: N/A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2008
Award Year: 2009
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2009-01-22
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2009-07-22
Small Business Information
1275 Kinnear Rd.
Columbus, OH 43212-1155
United States
DUNS: 014152511
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Matt Rindfleisch
 Principal Investigator
 (614) 481-8050
 mrindfleisch@hypertechresearch.com
Business Contact
 Lawrence Walley
Title: CFO
Phone: (614) 481-8050
Email: elwalley@hotmail.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

The development of magnesium diboride (MgB2) superconducting wires makes possible the potential to have much lighter weight superconducting stator and rotor coils for heavy aircraft motors and generators than with any other metal or ceramic superconductor. The MgB2 superconductor can be cooled to 20 K by liquid hydrogen fuel or conductively with a cyrocooler. The lighter weight coils, especially in the stator, will enable a lighter weight motor/generator. In a NASA SBIR Phase I and Phase II program we want to develop low AC loss MgB2 superconductors for the stators of synchronous motors or generators. For turbo-electric aircraft propulsion systems, it is desirable to have very light weight superconducting wires that can operate at greater than 1.5 T field and 500 Hz electrical frequency with input power between 10 and 100 kW. This SBIR Phase I aims to design, fabricate, and characterize AC-tolerant superconductors with a targeted loss budget less than 10 W/kA-m. This will be accomplished by reducing the hysteretic losses in MgB2 superconductors by fabricating wires with very small filaments, reducing the eddy current component of AC losses in MgB2 superconductors, and characterizing the transport current and AC losses of MgB2 wires.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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