The project (MAGLEV) objective is to make a significant contribution to the new class of bearing relief generators. This contribution will be developed by building a demonstrator machine. Technical methods will be developed to reduce misalignments and vibrations of the generator, enabling operation at higher power density and efficiency compared to the existing solutions. MAGLEV will develop cutting edge IP, which could change the world of electrical machines completely if successful, and should be able to secure and enhance EU industries’ competiveness. MAGLEV includes challenging tasks such as measuring shaft instantaneous position and bearing loadings accurately in dynamic operating conditions at high speed, developing a control technology to emulate the loads on the generator with a bearing relief system, the commissioning of the demonstrator machine, obtaining test data, and validating the simulation results with test data. Close and efficient communication with the Topic Leader is one of the key success factors in MAGLEV.

Advanced electro-mechanical magnetic pitch control mechanism (PCM) for open-rotor architectures. Open-rotor engines offer an alternative configuration in which the bypass duct is omitted, allowing for significantly higher bypass ratios without incurring the weight and drag penalty associated with a nacelle. It also offers significant CO2 reductions, and for an industry producing over 600 million tonnes of CO2 yearly, adopting this engine could save 180 million tonnes/year. The engine requires accurate control of the blade pitch via an actuation system, and it is this area of control that requires the greatest attention in order to realise the potential fuel savings. Current hydraulic systems transfer fluid to the rotating actuator components in order to control the blade pitch, requiring high-maintenance dynamic seals with potential for leakages. The key areas of innovation in this project centre around the development of a fault tolerant electro-mechanical pitch control mechanism utilizing an ultra-high torque density magnetically geared motor. The system is designed to be fault tolerant from the rotating power transfer device through to the motor torque production, with the development of a lightweight rotating fault tolerant high frequency transformer, fault tolerant electrical drive and fault tolerant motor architecture. Innovative light-weighting technology to form structural parts of the motor and actuator system will deliver a step-change in motor/actuator weight-saving. Development of multi-physical digital twins at the concept stage and then to predict failure rates of the various components. A full-size PCM will be built and tested and a number of components and sub-assemblies of the actuator will be vibration tested at representative temperatures. The coordinated research activities from four highly experienced partners from industry and academia will take the technology to TRL4.