Soft Magnetic Materials for Energy Applications in Extreme Environments – Matthew A. Willard
Date: Mon. October 27th, 2014, 12:30 pm-1:30 pmLocation: Rockefeller 221
A fundamental transformation of the transportation sector in the United States is underway. In parallel with advances in renewable energy resources for power generation, the rising use of electric and hybrid vehicles is reshaping the future of public transportation. Similar efforts are moving forward for more-electric ships, aircraft, and other military technologies. Due to their prevalence, magnetic materials play an important role in improving the efficiency and performance of devices in electric power generation, conditioning, and conversion. However, significant challenges exist for magnetic materials especially when used for transportation technologies, where enhanced reliability, power density, and overall energy capacity are increasingly important.
Our approach has been the development of advanced nanocomposite alloys to achieve better performance in magnetic materials. This presentation will focus on the state-of-the-art soft magnetic materials of interest for future power electronics and electric drives for vehicles. The advantages and opportunities for improved materials performance by nanostructuring will be discussed in terms of processingmicrostructure-magnetic property relationships. Specifically, our recently developed (Fe,Co,Ni)88Zr7B4Cu1 designed for high temperature power converter applications will be highlighted. As well as, our recent world-record for low coercivity at cryogenic temperature in (Fe,Si,Al)89Nb3B9Cu1 alloys will be discussed.