Chorus Motors

Chorus Motors PLC. is a subsidiary of the Gibraltar-based research and development company Borealis Exploration Ltd. and has invented and developed an improved AC induction motor/drive system.

Motor types

Meshcon

One example, the Chorus Meshcon motor, is a high-phase-order motor/drive system that offers up to ten times the 'burst,' startup, or acceleration torque of a conventional motor and drive of the same rated horsepower and base speed. The Chorus Meshcon system provides high torque at low speeds without compromising high-speed operation and performance. This configuration is ideal for traction and increased low-speed torque loads

The Chorus Meshcon Motor co-opts the harmonics that limit motor performance and that typically cause motor heating. This means a Chorus AC motor can generate far more torque than its conventional brethren. It does this by changing both the layout of the magnetic coils and the power input waveforms of a standard AC induction motor. Because the Chorus Meshcon motor is software controlled, it can be "reconfigured" on the fly - changing smoothly from a high-torque low-speed motor to a low-torque high-speed motor - without losing power to the friction in a mechanical gearbox.

Star

Another example, the Chorus Star motor, can achieve much higher torque densities than a traditional 3-phase motor, but with no cost penalty. The Chorus Star concept utilizes concentrated, high phase order windings which allows the beneficial use of harmonics (temporal, spatial, and overload). Consequently, a Chorus machine can achieve much higher torque densities than a traditional 3 phase motor, but with no cost penalty. Chorus Star machines are superior (for this purpose) to three-phase machines as well as permanent-magnet machines^{[citation needed]}.

WheelTug

Boeing Phantom Works and Air Canada have successfully tested the Chorus Motor's system in a 'proof of concept' demonstration. The goal of this test was to show that onboard electric drive motors can taxi an aircraft and to determine the feasibility of WheelTug.^[1] Boeing and Chorus Motors have formed a partnership to develop and market this technology.^[2]

The parent company Borealis Exploration Ltd. signed an agreement with Delta Air Lines making Delta the development partner and launch customer for the Boeing 737NG version of WheelTug to allow electric ground taxi. The company Wheeltug PLC has been spun off as a subsidiary of Chorus Motors PLC. and the expected delivery of the first units is scheduled for 2010.^[3][4]

WheelTug and Co-Operative Industries completed an Electrical Load Measurement (ELM) test on a B737NG in January 2010 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, GA to confirm sufficient power.^[5]

Wheeltug is a fully integrated ground propulsion system for aircraft which puts a high torque Chorus electric motor into the hub of the nose wheel to allow for backwards movement without the use of pushback tugs and to allow for forward movement without using the aircraft engines. WheelTug will drive the aircraft with power supplied by the onboard APU (Auxiliary Power Unit). The first version is being designed for the Boeing 737NG with delivery expected in 2012.

Car

The parent company Borealis has explored use of Chorus Meshcon in a Series hybrid vehicle.^[6][7]

References

1. ^ http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2005/q3/nr_050801a.html
2. ^ http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/001761.html
3. ^ http://news.delta.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10647
4. ^ http://www.Wheeltug.com
5. ^ http://www.wheeltug.gi/press/pr_WT20100201.shtml
6. ^ http://www.ChorusCars.com
7. ^ http://www.motortrend.com/features/editorial/112_0901_flying_hybrids_technologue/chorus_meshcon_electric_motor.htm

External links

• Borealis Exploration's main site
• Chorus Motors main site
• Wheeltug main site
• ChorusCars.com website discussing the application of the Chorus Meshcon Motor in Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
• Motor Trend Magazine feature article (January 2009), "Flying Hybrids" discussing Wheeltug and Series Hybrid vehicles
• Chorus Motors Patent Portfolio, including abstracts
• Multi-Media Demo for Chorus Meschon Motor