Demo 5: Underwater Scooter Torpex with newly developed Hollow Shaft Motor

Demo 5: Underwater Scooter Torpex with newly developed Hollow Shaft Motor

Conventional diver propulsion vehicles (DPV) have an electric motor with a shaft and a mounted propeller on it. The underwater scooter Torpex has a new ring motor topology with 3 propeller blades inside the rotor. Because there is no shaft needed anymore, the scooter is less error-prone due to entanglement, for example with old fishing-nets. Furthermore the propeller blades ensure an optimal power transmission from the engine to the water. The motor itself is a permanent magnet synchronous motor with a rated power of 4.5 kW. The winding and the bearings of the motor are cooled by water in the air gap. This allows high current densities up to 18 A/mm2, which is important due to restrictions of space. The scooter has a trust of 75 kg and a maximal diving deep of 200 m at speeds up to 4 Kn. The current inverter that drives the motor consists of a three phase power module with up to 100 A peak current and rated DC-Link Voltages between 30 V and 60 V. The current inverter is controlled by a STM-Microcontroller with an implemented sensorless motor control that guarantees high efficiencies and therefore an extended use time. The motors have been developed at the Power Electronics and Electrical Drives Laboratory at Aalen University. We will present a motor as stand-alone unit in a small aquarium. We will also bring one of the scooters, which will be shown on display or possibly in water, if the situation allows. The scooter is a market-ready product, which is distributed by the company Submatix, see: http://www.submatix.us/dpv-torpex.html

Tutorial hands-on and demos are divided in three groups which will rotate together every hour: