Rare-earth magnet motors

The specific power of rare earth permanent magnet motors can exceed 1 kW/kg. The combination of reliable, low-cost, solid-state controllers and brushless permanent magnet motors will find applications in (i) computer accessories like disk drives, printers, x-y plotters, (ii) consumer goods like hand tools, fans, and air-conditioners, (iii) robotics, traction motors, steel mills, lift motors, and (iv) aerospace flight control actuators. 

Hybrid automobiles could not function well without the use of rare earth metals. Lanthanum is used in their very efficient energy-storing batteries, and powerful neodymium-containing magnets are used in their electric motors. 

The electrical and hybrid vehicles are becoming a serious alternative to the internal combustion engine. But hybrid green cars would not exist without special materials like rare earth elements -lanthanum for their batteries, neodymium magnets for their electric motors, advanced piezoelectric materials for their engines, and various polymers and plastics for automotive appliances. For example, the battery in a single Toyota Prius contains more than 20 pounds of the rare earth element lanthanum. 

Note that important characteristics of some of the REM-based magnetic materials critical in the design of AC induction motors and generators are not fully known, such as retentivity, coercivity, and B-H characteristics therefore, further research is required on these materials. Table 4.13 identifies a few rare earth materials that provide a specific benefit to a particular EV or HEV component or subsystem. 

Rare-earth metals are of great importance in modem society because of their widespread applications in high-tech industries. Neodymium (Nd) and dysprosium (Dy), for instance, are especially indispensable in the manufacture of permanent magnets, which are essential to the generators and motors of wind turbines and electric vehicles. Other rare-earth metals such as yttrium (Y) and europium (Eu) are extensively used as fluorescent materials for lamps and TV displays [1]. In recent years, industrial wastes and scrap such as a spent TV display, fluorescent lamps, and permanent magnets have been recognized as valuable secondary resources of critical metals [2-4-]. 

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