低温工程领域的新机遇

简要介绍和讨论了低温工程领域3个令人兴奋的进展。首先描述了提高电-燃气轮机混合驱动飞机性能的两个机会:采用超导电机或定子实现超过30kW/kg的推重比,或者使用含液化天然气的混合燃料。第二个机遇是基于氢燃料电池汽车,扼要给出了氢燃料电池汽车在商业部门的快速发展情况,液氢的供应和运输是氢燃料电池汽车相关基础设施的重要组成部分。第三探讨了小型等离子体热核反应装置的新兴发展情况,等离子体热核反应将在未来10到15年成为人类重要的清洁能源来源。由于小型等离子体热核反应装置依赖于工作在超高磁场强度的高温超导磁体,所以它将为低温工程领域带来一系列创新的机会。

Emerging opportunities in cryogenic engineering

A set of three exciting developments in the field of cryogenic engineering are briefly presented and discussed.In the first,opportunities are described for improving the performance of hybrid electric&gas-turbine powered aircraft by either utilizing superconducting rotors and stators to enable designs with a power to weight ratio exceeding 30 kW/kg,or by incorporating LNG as part of a combined fuel approach.In the second development,a brief view is given to the rapidly growing commercial sector of hydrogen-based fuel-cell powered vehicles.The associated infrastructure of supply and transport involves the use of cryogenic liquid hydrogen.The third example explores the emerging development of relatively small plasma-fusion energy devices that will provide a significant and clean energy source within the next 10-15 years.The devices rely on the use of high temperature superconducting magnets operating at very high fields and present a variety of opportunities for innovations in cryogenic engineering.