A motor’s efficiency is negatively impacted by the heat it generates. For hybrid and electric vehicles, which are already struggling for range efficiency, this is a serious problem to overcome.
One potential solution for this issue is to reduce vehicle weight and size.
The DX Falcon electric motor, a collaboration between DeltaWing Technology Group and DHX Electric Machines, is an effort to push motor shrinkage to the extreme without compromising the power of conventional motors.
A Lightweight, High-Power Electric Motor
According to the company, the DHX Falcon 80 hp (60kW) weighs 30lbs (13.6kg) and delivers 96 percent efficiency.
“It achieves power densities of 120 hp per gallon (25kW per liter) and extraordinary torque of 195ft-lbs/gallon (70Nm/l),” said J. Rhett Mayor, president of DHX. “In simple terms, it delivers the power and torque of the standard sedan’s powertrain in the space of a one-gallon can of paint.
“Our DHX Falcon electric motor features standard materials, not exotic steels and magnets,” Mayor continued.
High-torque electric motors generate thermal losses in the windings due to resistance and friction between rotating components. This heat usually dissipates through the stator to the frame via air or liquid cooling.
The DHX Falcon motor uses a Direct-Winding Heat Exchanger (DWHX), which uses micro-feature enhanced heat exchangers to reduce conduction length from windings to the ambient.
Each DWHX features tiny channels to dissipate heat for decreased thermal resistance and increased efficiency.
Automotive Industry Revolution?
DeltaWing's team-up with DHX allows the company the rights to make, use and sell electric motors and components specifically designed for automotive applications globally.
“We’ll use [the DHX Falcon electric motor] in our DeltaWing road car architecture, which studies show is already in the range of the 2025 CAFÉ requirements,” said Don Panoz, chairman of DeltaWing.
2012 DeltaWing Show Car.
(By Morio (photo taken by Morio) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
Is this how you revolutionize the automotive industry?
The efficiencies of DeltaWing’s vehicle architecture have already been race-proven in competitions using the Panoz DeltaWing Racing coupe, which returns in 2016 for its fourth year of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) road racing competition.
DHX has relocated to the DeltaWing Technology Group campus in Braselton, GA, to begin production and development for multiple automotive projects.
For more information, visit www.dhxmachines.com and www.deltawingtech.com.