Press Release

Electron Energy Corporation Awarded Air Force STTR Contract to Develop Multiphase Nanocomposite Magnets Capable of Withstanding Ultra-High Temperature Applications

LANDISVILLE, PA (June 21, 2007) – Michael H. Walmer, President, of Electron Energy Corporation (EEC), a long-standing innovator in the field of rare earth magnets, announced the award of a Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) contract by the United States Air Force (USAF) to develop multiphase nanocomposite magnets that can withstand ultra-high temperature applications.

The US Air Force, AFRL, Office of Scientific Research recently selected the EEC-led team to meet the requirements of Phase II in a two-year, $749,999 contract. EEC will be supported in these efforts by the University of Delaware, Department of Physics and Astronomy led by Dr. George Hadjipanayis.  Jinfang Liu, Ph. D., Director of Technology at EEC, an internationally recognized accomplished researcher in rare earth magnet materials and systems, will be the principal investigator for the project.  

The main objective of this program is to develop a new class of permanent magnets that will achieve 30 MegaGauss Oersteds (MGOe) or greater at temperatures up to 450°C.  These high energy, ultra-high temperature magnets will be used in the design of components for future air and space vehicles such as aircraft motors, generators, actuators, bearings, power system components, sensors, and traveling wave tubes.  The new magnets will directly support the U.S. Air Force development of the “more electric aircraft” through reduction or elimination of hydraulics for engines and associated electrical power units and reducing cooling requirements. Many of the magnet applications will require optimized performance at elevated temperatures and under mechanical stress. Directed energy weapons will also be advanced by improved magnets for power generation components.

For the past several years, University of Delaware has conducted extensive studies on nanocomposite R₂Fe₁₄B/α-Fe melt-spun magnets, which were focused on the optimization of both the composition and processing conditions.

EEC and the University of Delaware proposed to develop multiphase nanocomposite magnets, which takes advantage of the extremely high coercivity of SmCo alloys, the high saturation magnetization and moderate intrinsic coercivity of other hard magnetic phases, and the high saturation magnetization of soft magnetic phases (such as a-Fe).

Nanocomposite magnets consist of a fine mixture of soft and hard phases that are exchange coupled.  The soft phase provides the high magnetization and the hard phase provides the anisotropy and intrinsic coercivity that resists demagnetization of the soft phase.

EEC and the University of Delaware will collaboratively develop anisotropic core/shell structures by controlled precipitation techniques. This approach would eliminate the need for a separate preparation process for soft and hard magnetic particles and greatly improve the uniformity of the soft phase in the nanocomposite material.
 
Peter C. Dent, Director of Business Development, said, “It would be a major breakthrough if these alternate methods are successful, because nanoparticle preparation and consolidation processes would not be needed for nanocomposite magnets.”

EEC has been issued US patent protection for its ultra-high temperature SmCo magnets capable of operating in the 350 to 550 °C range and has produced these SmCo-UHTmagnets in commercial use for over five years.  Competing magnet technologies have energy products several times lower than EEC ultra-high temperature magnets. Since 1996, EEC has been granted sixteen STTR or SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research) Phase I and Phase II programs, which resulted in three patents, as well as over 30 papers published in professional journals.  EEC produced SmCo magnets are compliant with US Department of Defense preference for specialty metals provisions in DFARS 225.252-7014 (Deviation).

For more information about Electron Energy Corporation’s magnetic solutions to your needs, call toll-free at 1-800-824-2735. Our staff of engineering specialists are available for free technical consultations, and will travel to on-site meetings.