This 17-year-old inventor from Florida is a natural-born engineer, and he estimates he has completed at least 60 engineered inventions during his spare time.
A Smithsonian Magazine report specified that Robert Sansone invented a lot - from animatronic hands to high-speed running boots, not to mention a go-cart that can achieve over 70 miles an hour.
A couple of years back, Sansone came across a video about the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars.
The video explained that most eclectic car motors require magnets made from rare-earth components, which can be environmentally and financially expensive to extract.
As indicated in the report, the rare-earth materials required could cost hundreds of dollars a kilogram. To compare, copper costs $7.83 each kilogram.
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Tesla recently began the use of permanent magnets in its motors.
A Natural Interest in Electric Motors
Describing his work, Sansone said he has a natural interest in electric motors and had used them in different robotic projects.
Within that sustainability problem, the young engineer wanted to tackle it and try and design a different motor.
This high school student had heard of an electric motor type, the synchronous reluctance motor, that does not use these rare-earth materials.
This kind of motor is presently used for pumps and fans, although it is not powerful enough by itself to be employed in an electric vehicle. Therefore, Sansone began brainstorming strategies he could enhance its performance.
Novel Synchronous Reluctance Motor Prototype Developed
For one year, the teen inventor developed a prototype of a novel synchronous reluctance motor with greater rotational force or torque and effectiveness than the existing ones.
The model was made from 3D-printed plastic, copper wires, and a still rotor and tested using a variety of meters to gauge power and a laser tachometer to identify the rational speed of the motor.
According to professor of electrical and computer engineering Heath Hofmann from the University of Michigan, the less sustainable permanent magnet motors utilize materials like neodymium, which are in high demand as they are used in numerous different products, which include headphones and earbuds.
Hofmann has extensively worked on electric cars, including consulting with Tesla to develop control algorithms for its propulsion drive.
Use of Magnets in Developing EVs
He explained that the number of applications that use magnets appears to be getting bigger and bigger.
He added that a lot of materials are mined in China, and thus, the price can frequently rely on their trade status with China. The professor also said that Tesla recently began using permanent magnets in its motors.
Electric motors use rotating electromagnetic fields to spin a rotor. The wire's coils in the stationary outer part of the motor, known as the stator, generate such electromagnetic fields.
Meanwhile, magnets attached to a spinning rotor's edge in permanent magnet motors produce a magnetic field that is attracted to the opposite poles on the spinning field. Such an attraction is spinning the rotor.
Torque Produced with Rotating Magnetic Field
Synchronous reluctance motors are not using magnets. Rather, a steel rotor with air gaps cut into it aligns itself with the rotating magnetic field.
Reluctance, or the material's magnetism, is key to such a process. Torque is produced as the rotor is spinning along with the rotating magnetic field.
More torque is produced when the saliency ratio or difference in magnetism between materials is greater.
Instead of utilizing air gaps, Sansone thought he could integrate one more magnetic field into a motor, the young inventor said in an interview with Charged. This would enhance this saliency to ration and, in turn, generate more torque. His design has other components, although he cannot reveal any more details as he hopes to patent the technology in the future.
Related information about the synchronous motor with permanent magnets is shown on Skoda Group's YouTube video below:
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