2008 Woodie Awards
Dr. Marriot obtains grant for linear particle accelerator
Ian Wells
Issue date: 9/14/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Imagine an object having 500,000 watts propelling it to a speed in excess of 600 miles per hour. Now imagine this occurring in a matter of seconds and in a matter of feet. This is the possibility of Dr. Darin Marriott's linear motor grant, funded by NASA Dryden.
A linear motor is state-of-the-art technology designed to accelerate objects extremely rapidly. The linear motor will hover a metallic plate between two large magnetic plates. Once properly suspended, the linear motor will use large amounts of energy to create an electromotive force in the plate, accelerating the free plate to an estimated Mach 1.2, or 1.2 times the speed of sound.
The estimation of the final speed is exactly what Dr. Marriott and the three students involved are hoping to determine. The estimated speed of Mach 1.2 is a claim by the manufacturer, Power Superconductor. The linear motor is actually a product for NASA, but before NASA will take it, they wish to have it tested to determine if the linear motor really functions as specified.
In conjunction with the linear motor project, a Mitsubishi Variable Frequency Drive has been obtained, though not yet tested by the linear motor team. The VFD is designed to supply large amounts of power, upwards of 1.5 megawatts. This number is entirely theoretical, as the VFD has only just been obtained and not yet tested. The linear motor will use the VFD to supply it with the large amount of power it requires to hover and accelerate an object.
The linear motor and the VFD are both supplied with the grant given to the three student team. The team is given a set of specific goals to acquire with the linear motor, and these goals must be completed in one year's time. Currently, the student team is working on hardware assembly, power electronics, and safety. Once the counterpart to the Linear motor is assembled and all safety precautions taken, Dr. Marriott and the student team will begin testing. One of the students is working on constructing an object to test on the finished linear motor.
A second grant has been submitted by Dr. Marriott with the hope of working with General Atomic. This partnership will allow a power input upward of 2 megawatts or an estimated 600 miles per hour. Dr. Marriott is hoping that this new grant will take less time than the last, with the last taking about a year from submission to the first shipment of equipment.
The future possibilities associated with the linear motor include projects such as the X-43, a SCRAMJet. The X-43 combined with the potential of the linear motor, will allow for easier access to space. Using a combined cycle of rockets, ramjets, and scramjets will potentially make it much cheaper to get into space, by removing the large launch vehicles.
A linear motor is state-of-the-art technology designed to accelerate objects extremely rapidly. The linear motor will hover a metallic plate between two large magnetic plates. Once properly suspended, the linear motor will use large amounts of energy to create an electromotive force in the plate, accelerating the free plate to an estimated Mach 1.2, or 1.2 times the speed of sound.
The estimation of the final speed is exactly what Dr. Marriott and the three students involved are hoping to determine. The estimated speed of Mach 1.2 is a claim by the manufacturer, Power Superconductor. The linear motor is actually a product for NASA, but before NASA will take it, they wish to have it tested to determine if the linear motor really functions as specified.
In conjunction with the linear motor project, a Mitsubishi Variable Frequency Drive has been obtained, though not yet tested by the linear motor team. The VFD is designed to supply large amounts of power, upwards of 1.5 megawatts. This number is entirely theoretical, as the VFD has only just been obtained and not yet tested. The linear motor will use the VFD to supply it with the large amount of power it requires to hover and accelerate an object.
The linear motor and the VFD are both supplied with the grant given to the three student team. The team is given a set of specific goals to acquire with the linear motor, and these goals must be completed in one year's time. Currently, the student team is working on hardware assembly, power electronics, and safety. Once the counterpart to the Linear motor is assembled and all safety precautions taken, Dr. Marriott and the student team will begin testing. One of the students is working on constructing an object to test on the finished linear motor.
A second grant has been submitted by Dr. Marriott with the hope of working with General Atomic. This partnership will allow a power input upward of 2 megawatts or an estimated 600 miles per hour. Dr. Marriott is hoping that this new grant will take less time than the last, with the last taking about a year from submission to the first shipment of equipment.
The future possibilities associated with the linear motor include projects such as the X-43, a SCRAMJet. The X-43 combined with the potential of the linear motor, will allow for easier access to space. Using a combined cycle of rockets, ramjets, and scramjets will potentially make it much cheaper to get into space, by removing the large launch vehicles.
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