Motor Insulation Material Development for Improved Power Density Navy SBIR FY2006.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2006.2 Topic No.: N06-142 Topic Title: Motor Insulation Material Development for Improved Power Density Proposal No.: N062-142-0365 Firm: Texas Research Institute Austin, Inc. 9063 Bee Caves Road Austin, Texas 78733-6201 Contact: Brad Rix Phone: (512) 263-2101 Web Site: www.tri-austin.com Abstract: The propulsion motors under development for use on the U.S. Navy���s next generation destroyer, the DDG 1000, are in need of novel insulating resins that exceed the performance properties of the currently available vacuum-pressure impregnation (VPI) resins. Texas Research Institute Austin, Inc. proposes a new high temperature resin that exhibits excellent dielectric properties, can withstand short rise-time voltage surges associated with the use of a pulse width modulated (PWM) drive, and will dissipate thermal energy quickly away from the coils in order to effectively increase the power density for the motor. The resin will be engineered to be fully compatible with the VPI process. During Phase I, TRI/Austin will be teaming with a manufacturer of Naval advanced induction propulsion motors. This corporation will provide technical assistance and finite element analysis modeling of the proposed resin. An established supplier of VPI resins to the military will also be involved as a technical advisor and potential commercialization partner. The feasibility of the new resin will be proven through the generation of in-house experimental thermal, electrical, and physical property data followed by computational modeling to show predicted behavior in a large-scale motor. Benefits: The high temperature, electrically insulating resin will be beneficial for high power density motors and motors that are powered by PWM drives. Other potential applications include the electronics industry, where thermally conductive, temperature-resistant resins are needed for heat dissipation. Return