Design and Experimental Test of a Thermomagnetic Motor

This paper presents a Thermomagnetic Motor. The design of the motor is based on a thermal-magnetic coupled dynamic model, which is obtained by assuming the use of a ferromagnetic material working at temperatures near the curie point. The motor is modeled in terms of both its magnetic as well thermal properties (magnetic permeability and thermal conductivity) and the thermal processes are supposed to be influenced by the thermal conductivity, the convection and the advection. An analytical expression of the generated torque, which links this quantity to the magnetic, thermal and geometrical parameters of the generated torque is given. A design of a machine, based on this theory is proposed and the related performances are numerically simulated. The motor has been built and its rotor has been manufactured by using Gadolinium. An experimental verification of the performances is reported.