Electric Machinery and Apparatus Engineering　　－ Course Introduction #11 －

Think about the transformers that change three-phase alternating current from transmission lines into 110V direct current usable in your home. Inductors that store magnetic energy. The motors that provide the driving force for not just air-conditioners and vacuum cleaners but even cars and power stations.

These are just some examples of the machines that you can learn about in Electric Machinery and Apparatus Engineering. In this lecture, we will learn about the structures and operating principles of such electric machines. Furthermore, by learning and practicing the concept of drawing equivalent circuits, we will also learn to calculate the actual current and voltage values in the various components of a machine during operation.

In order to meet efficiency and cost reduction goals, and in order to better suit the needs of their targeted customer base, commercially available electric machinery come in a great variety of structures and shapes. For simplicity and better understanding, this course focuses on the most widely used types of electric machinery.

One of the teachers-in-charge of the lecture is Dr. Chiba(in picture), whose area of research is in motors for automotive vehicles. As a result, he often slips in examples of how the various electric machines that we learn about are actually being applied in the automotive industry.
For instance, when learning about inductors and motors, we learn about how inductors are essential to the voltage boosting operation in hybrid cars and how 8-pole permanent magnet(PM) motors are widely used in electric cars. We can thus see how practical our knowledge of electric machines is in the real world!

In this manner, we learn about how the electric machines present all around us actually function in the lecture “Electric Machinery and Apparatus Engineering”.

• TOKYO TECH OCW - 2019 Electric Machinery and apparatus