Scientists from the Faculty of Electrical and Control Engineering of the Gdańsk University of Technology (PG) have developed an innovative multi-phase generator. It guarantees the operation of the machine during the failure of one of its phases, and its production does not require the use of permanent magnets, which makes the potential manufacturer independent of Chinese monopolists of the magnet market.

It is a multi-phase induction generator for use in a wind, water or gas power plant. It can also be used by the army for example, in tanks or armored cars. Innovation in the prototype is the use of a five-phase control winding.

“Generators with a three-phase control winding are widely available on the market, but there are no machines with a five-phase control winding. We are pioneers in this field”, emphasizes Dr Eng. Grzegorz Kostro from the Gdańsk University of Technology. “So far, such a prototype has not been developed, because the problem was to develop a control winding that will not engage the power winding directly, but through a short-circuited rotor winding, and to attach a dedicated control system to it. We managed to do it”, adds the scientist from Gdańsk.

Dr Michał Michna explained that an innovative generator, thanks to five phases, will continue to work in an emergency, with reduced efficiency by 10-15%, but still it supplies the device with no breaks until the defect is repaired. According to Dr Eng. Michna, PG scientists are the only ones who undertook the construction of such a prototype in Poland. “We have not met with such research in the world”, adds Michna.

The team has already prepared a prototype of a five-phase brush generator and is currently working on a brushless model.

Completion of the project is scheduled for October this year. The next step is to commercialize the invention.

Adrian Andrzejewski