Russian scientists have used superconducting materials for the development of powerful electric motors. Their use can increase the specific power of electric motors. It is noted that the development of the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) represents the base for aircraft engines, and not full-fledged aircraft engines.
“This system consists of a gas turbine engine rotating an electric generator, an electric motor and a cable line connecting them. The specific power of such an installation is over 10 kW / kg, that is, more than that of a jet engine,”explained the engineers.
The installation also includes a cryogenic support system, Izvestiya writes . The use of refrigerant almost completely blocks the possibility of fire in case of a short circuit in the wiring.
“The main difficulty in transferring aircraft from jet engines to electric engines is the need to rebuild all the internal systems of the aircraft, ” said Dmitry Dezhin, Associate Professor of the Moscow Aviation Institute. For this reason, it will be economically feasible to use engines whose specific power will be noticeably higher than that produced by gas turbine units.
