ESSIAL Project « Electrical Steel Structuring, Insulating and Assembling by means of the Laser technologies”
The company Jeumont Electric and the “Université de Picardie Jules Verne” (UPJV) – both MEDEE Scientific Committee members – are among the partners of an ambitious European project called ESSIAL.
It is coordinated by another MEDEE member : the « École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs en Electrotechnique et Electronique d’Amiens » (ESIEE).All these 3 partners are based in the Hauts-de-France Region which R&D Electrical Engineering in High-Power Applications is carried by the Research Cluster MEDEE.
ESSIAL :
Soft magnetic materials, made from stack of steel sheets separated by insulating layers, are becoming crucial in the various end-user industries and applications based on magnetic components and machines (transformers, sensors, actuators, motors, generators …). Experts estimate that the growth rate of soft magnetic materials will improve by 7.8% annually in the coming years! However, the technology used to manufacture steel sheets causes huge energy losses (called iron losses in addition to copper and mechanical losses) and noise (due to induced stresses and vibrations).
ESSIAL will use laser surface texturizing in order to improve the performance and functionalities of laminated magnetic circuits, while preserving a high mechanical and thermal resistance. In addition, the improved materials will be eco-friendly (no emission of pollutant during their working life); and made of materials that are easy to recycle.