7:00 AM - Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:15 AM - Opening Address
8:20 AM - Keynote Presentation
Rare Earths and Corporate Social Responsibility
This presentation will look at a growing important dimension of performance for current and emerging rare earth producers, that being CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility. In essence, Corporations today are expected conduct themselves in a manner that ensures positive environmental, social and economic performance within governance structures that encourage and ensure such and to be transparent about it. This presentation will not rate individual company performance, but rather, by example, it will describe a growingly accepted international reporting framework, and by way of example, discuss some of hot button issues facing the rare earth industry (e.g. the processing and storage of thorium, social license, water and environmental management, recycling and re-use). It will also share some of the innovative program initiatives that have and are being adopted.
Ian M London, Energy & Market Development Advisor •
Avalon Rare Metals, Inc.
9:25 AM
After the Storm: How the USMMA Sees the Future of the US Magnet Industry
The rare earth crisis has certainly dominated news coverage of the magnet industry during the last couple of years. Is the crisis over, or are we merely in the eye of the storm? We’ll take a look at the latest efforts to move away from crisis mode in the rare earth value chain, including recent developments in Washington DC. We’ll also review the current state of the US domestic permanent magnet producers. Finally, we’ll consider what the future may hold for the US market for permanent magnets.
Ed Richardson, President • USMMA
Cost Effective Drivetrains for Multi-Megawatt Wind Turbines with
Medium-Speed Permanent
Magnet Generators
This presentation will offer attendees an understanding of the drive-train system design trade-offs for a lowest cost of energy wind power generation system. The attendee will understand how magnet costs drive the optimal system solution including distinguishing between market-driven factors (time varying) and physics based constraints. The attendee will be able to articulate the trade-offs between DFIG-based systems and PMG-based systems; direct-drive and gearbox-based systems for multi-megawatt wind-turbine drivetrains.
Dan Saban, CTO • Danotek Motion Technologies
10:00 AM - Exhibit Hall Opens / Networking Break
10:45 AM
Usage of Magnetics in Inductive Power Systems
During this presentation the magnetics required for different applications of wireless power transfer will be shown. These applications range from ultra slim designs for charging consumer devices to slip ring replacement systems for use in wind turbines, capable of delivering hundreds of watts wirelessly. Magnetic core shapes, frequencies, and sizes and shielding are discussed, as well as some commonly used magnetic structures. Attendees will leave this presentation with knowledge on the latest developments and breakthroughs concerning wirelessly powered solutions using magnetics, including the capabilities and limitations of this technology.
Mr. Fady Mishriki, CEO • PowerbyProxi
Rare Earth Crisis Dissected: Calculating the Future
2011 has been a year of tumultuous change in the Rare Earth Materials (REM) marketplace, particularly for NdFeB-based materials. Prices have skyrocketed beyond rhyme or reason. The supply chain has been strained beyond capacity. Projects have stalled or designs revamped to exclude or substitute NdFeB. Supplier relationships have been damaged or destroyed. Mines and factories have closed en masse. To predict the future, one must first understand the past and present. This presentation will review the events that led up to the REM crisis, the fall-out and what the future holds: the Causes, the Effects, the Future, and a REM Price Calculator. Every materials scientists, design engineer, purchasing manager, project manager and chief executive needs to take stock of the recent past to understand the future impact of REM on their designs, costing, procurement and supply chain.
John Ebert, Business Manager • Yunsheng USA
11:25 AM
Conserving Heavy Rare Earths Through Effective
Utilization of Grain Boundary
Even though new sources of rare-earths will come online in the next few years, heavy rare-earths will continue to be in short supply, and it will remain important to conserve these scarce materials. The Grain Boundary Diffusion Process (GBDP) allows for reductions of heavy rare-earth content in NdFeB magnets. Attend this session to hear how GBDP reduces the need for scarce heavy rare-earths, and how this technology provides significant performance enhancements. The successful application of GBDP magnets in PM Motors will also be covered, along with the benefits this technology brings in terms of performance, material savings and cost reduction.
Nobuhiro Saito, Magnet Application Specialist •
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd
High Precision and Simple Analog Through-Shaft
Magnetic Sensors for the Control of Electric Drives
This presentation introduces the application of a through shaft rotary magnetic position sensor technology developed by MMT to the case of large diameter shafts (typically > 50 mm), which can be used to determine accurately the position of the rotor of an electric machine for smooth control and optimized efficiency.
Gerald Masson, Business Development •
Moving Magnet Technologies
12:00 PM - Networking Luncheon
1:00 PM
Forward to Alnico
It is known Alnico alloys belong to widespread commercial precision material for permanent magnets. Most current “magneticians” (researchers, metallurgists, technologists, executive officers, etc.) were grown from Alnico alloys. Attend this presentation to hear the fundamental problems of AlNiCo family, from understanding of external temperature and compositional dependences of magnetic properties and up to development of processing of single crystal. Problems of Alnico alloys are important in connection with searching of alternatives to R-E based magnetic materials.
Yuri Rabinovich, CEO • Applied Magnet Technology LLC
Superconducting Rotating Machines –
Opportunities & Challenges
The application of superconductivity enables rotating machines which are smaller, lighter, quieter, more efficient, more reliable and scalable. Applied to large motors and generators, these machines could have a major impact for addressing global energy by significantly reducing the cost of energy production and increasing energy efficiency. In addition, the use of superconductivity for machines eliminates the need for rare earth materials and is environmentally benign. This presentation will provide an overview of the opportunities and challenges of superconducting machines and how the Advanced Magnet Lab is applying superconductivity for next generation wind turbines, industrial motors and turbo-electric propulsion.
Dr. Rainer Meinke, Chief Scientist and
Vernon Prince, GM AML Energy
Advanced Magnet Lab, Inc.
1:40 PM
Use, Reduction and Probable Remedies of Heavy Rare Earth Metals in Neodymium Iron Boron Alloy System
The advent of NdFeB permanent magnets ushered in a slate of new applications that were virtually impossible with the existing families of permanent magnet alloys. The lower Curie Temperatures and the associated thermal magnetization losses of Br and Hci, made the use of NdFeB magnets difficult if not downright impossible, in host of high temperature devices. To enhance the anisotropy field of this family of alloys, a portion of light rare earths was replaced by heavy rare earth metals. The latter enhancement was accompanied by some loss of remanence and the problems of a poor balance between the heavy and light rare earth metals. Attend this presentation to hear about the benefits and the problems associated with the heavy rare earths and the potential attempts to reduce and or avoid the dependence on heavy rare earths wherever and whenever possible.
Shuk Rashidi, Vice President • Tridus Magnetics and Assemblies
Monte-Carlo Method for Calculating Complex
Magnetic Systems
Fields of magnetized iron structures in the vicinity of current carrying conductors or of permanent magnets are conventionally calculated with Finite Element Analysis by meshing the iron structures or permanent magnet materials. A novel method has been developed that uses a phenomenological approach to calculate even the most intricate assemblies of current carrying coils, soft iron and permanent magnet materials. The method uses the Monte-Carlo technique to model the magnetic domains in the described materials with their proper hysteresis curves. The novel method does not require any meshing and enables determination of magnetic fields of systems that are almost intractable with conventional FEA analysis. Examples of complex systems calculated with the new method are presented.
Sasha Ishmael, Research Scholar • North Carolina State University
2:20 PM
Magneto-Optical Visualization and Analysis of
Magnetic Fields
Magneto-optical sensors are capable of visualizing magnetic fields directly without any time consuming scanning effort. Attend this presentation to learn about the manufacturing of magneto-optical sensors and the use of Faraday effect for direct two-dimensional quantitative measurement of magnetic fields. Different sensor types and imaging behavior will be discussed and examples for applications of magneto-optical visualization will be presented.
Morris Lindner, Head of Magneto-Optics Group • Matesy GmbH
The Pull of Stronger Magnets
Nanostructured magnets have great potential for future applications. However, traditional processing techniques are ill-suited for producing nano-magnets. Progress has been made recently by adopting novel “bottom-up” approaches to fabrication of nano-magnets. Salt-matrix annealing, severe plastic deformation and surfactant-assisted ball milling have been applied to prepare nanostructured powder particles including FePt, Sm-Co, Nd-Fe-B and Fe-Co based materials. Warm compaction and explosive compaction have been used to produce bulk nano-magnets. Strong magnetic exchange coupling has been achieved in the compacted samples, making the bottom-up approaches promising for large scale production of strong magnets in the future.
J. Ping Liu, Professor Dept. of Physics • Univ. of Texas - Arlington
3:00 PM - Networking Break
3:30 PM
Energy on Demand
This presentation will describe the theory, design, building and testing of the passive magnetic bearing stabilizing system, which is the core of the passive magnetic bearing system. Arnold Magnetic Technologies (Arnold) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are collaborating on a passive magnetic bearing system initially intended for bulk storage flywheel energy storage systems, but one that may also be transferable to other applications.
John De Leon, Corporate Marketing Communications Manager
Arnold Magnetic Technologies
Efficient Use of Rare-Earth Materials - A New
Challenge for Designers
The recent volatility in the rare-earth materials markets has not only been a challenge for everyone involved in the supply chain, but has also raised issues for application designers that previously had been only of minor concern. These new issues revolve around how cost effective a design will be during the lifetime of a product (or even by the time a product is launched), and the need to create a number of alternative designs that could be implemented if there is a shift in relative costs. This presentation highlights some of the factors which designers need to consider in order to make the most effective use of these expensive materials.
James Bell, Consultant • MagnetoDynamics LLC
4:15 PM
The Metallurgy of Rare Earth Recycling
This presentation will focus on the metallurgical principles employed in the recycle of magnets. From a metallurgical standpoint, the primary characteristics of magnets will also be described. Then, the unit operations employed will be elucidated. Finally, several known process routes will be presented for effective magnet recycling.
Dr. Corby G. Anderson, Harrison Western Professor at Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy • Colorado School of Mines
5:00 PM - Cocktail Reception |
7:30 AM - Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:00 AM - Keynote Panel Discussion
The Uncertain Future of the Permanent
Magnet Industry
The 2011 industry upheaval regarding the availability and price escalation of NdFeB magnets may have permanently changed the future landscape of the global permanent magnet industry. Future dynamics involving material selection and system designs will likely have a significant long-term industry impact. In addition, some domestic industry participants have been pursuing Federal government support for the development of a domestic NdFeB manufacturing capability. This panel will discuss these and other significant issues challenging both magnet producers and magnet users.
| Moderator |
Walter T. Benecki • Walter T. Benecki LLC |
| Panelists |
John Calico • Moog Components Group
Steve Constantinides • Arnold Magnetic Technologies
Lee Langolf • Hitachi Metals America |
9:15 AM - Featured Presentation
Molycorp Update: Phoenix Rising
America’s largest expansion and development project in rare earth mining and separations is Molycorp’s “Project Phoenix” at Mountain Pass, Calif. Attend this presentation to hear an update on the progress in the first two phases of the project. In addition, we will discuss “Molycorp Minerals and Alloys” of Arizona and “Molycorp Sillämae” of Estonia, their contributions to the company, and to that of the overall magnetics space. Other topics will include decoding some of the more confusing aspects of the rare earth situation, Molycorp’s physical production of Minerals and Alloys, as well as suggested strategies for dealing with the current global state of affairs.
Dr. Stan Trout, Director, Magnet Business • Molycorp, Inc.
10:00 AM - Exhibit Hall Opens / Networking Break
10:45 AM
High Electrical Resistivity Permanent Magnets for
Advanced Motors and Generators
Attend this session to learn about a new magnet technology, which will allow the manufacture of a new class of rare earth permanent magnets with high electrical resistivity. These materials are comprised of a rare earth magnetic phase and ceramic phases, which disrupts or reduces the flow of electrons through the bulk magnet material. This technology is being applied to both rare earth permanent magnet types. Magnets with higher electrical resistivity will enhance electrical efficiency in higher speed motor and generator applications and help enable lower temperature operation, increase power density, reduce complexity and cost, enable higher pole counts, and even mitigate usage of heavy rare earth elements. This presentation will review the current status of development of this Department of Energy SBIR Phase III sponsored work and highlight magnetic, mechanical and electrical resistivity performance.
Peter C. Dent, VP of Business Development •
Electron Energy Corp.
Testing Soft Magnetics – Using Wire
Researching and developing inductive devices that incorporate wire form factor for magnetics was, and is, challenging. But wire (the “easiest” part) became the most challenging. Suitable wire had not yet been produced. In order to produce it, we enlisted smart partners and big organizations to help. The process required testing lots of samples in various configurations from tiny pieces of wire to entire coils. Tests on saturation intensity, coercivity, remanence and relative permeability were required. Attend this session to hear and discuss the results of these new tests.
Harrie Buswell, CEO • Buswell Energy, LLC
11:25 AM
Permanent Magnet Motors in Low Voltage
High Speed Applications
Attend this presentation to learn about issues of designing a permanent magnet motor to be used in low voltage applications. These applications would tend to be remote applications that will need to be powered off grid. The power sources for the PM Motors discussed would be constant voltage types as in 12 to 48 volt DC battery powered applications or varying low voltage from remote site sources such as a solar panels or wind generators. The presenter will discuss the design methods of a permanent magnet motor to address and overcome these design issues to produce a high efficient total application of a permanent magnet motor, drive and power source.
Lowell Christensen, VP of Engineering •
TruTech Specialty Motors
Injection Molded Magnets for Electrical Machines
Injection molded magnets are applied for electrical machines in high quantities especially when less power but complex field distributions or geometrical shapes are needed. The magnets are either pole oriented cost effective Ferrites that are magnetized directly in the mold or rare earth magnets, which are mainly magnetized by external pulse magnetizing. For an adequate prediction of the magnets behavior specific analysis tools are needed. After an overview over injection molded magnets including materials, tooling and mechanical system aspects, the analysis methods will be explained by practical examples on magnets where predictions from calculations will be compared to measurements.
Thomas Schliesch, Head of R&D •
Max Baermann GmbH
12:00 PM - Networking Luncheon
1:00 PM
Transformer Modeling Using Finite Element Methods
Finite element methods for simulation of electromagnetic devices are a well established tool. However, their wider uptake for engineering design is often inhibited by the complexity of constructing appropriate models and extracting results.This presentation will discuss developments to overcome this issue using an advanced scripting language, included within a commercial software package, to create macro files that capture the engineering design process for a range of transformer and reactor designs. Topics covered will include the methods used to construct parameterized models, the subsequent analysis and simulation options and the presentation of engineering results. Further developments to integrate the parametric models with design optimization software will also be presented.
Chris Riley, Technology Manager • Cobham Technical Services
Vector Fields Software
Magnetic Materials and Magnet Materials Related to High-Field Magnets
The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory builds and uses various high field magnets for fundamental research. Attend this presentation to hear about the latest R&D for both the magnets and magnetic materials. Some of the research on metal matrix composite materials for building high field magnets and for permanent magnets will be outlined. The discussions include both the macrocomposite and microcomposite. The scales of the structures in the composites are from millimeters to nanometers.
Ke Han • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
1:40 PM
Magnetic Modeling, Simulation and Analysis for
Space Applications
The Aerospace Corp. has applied magnetic modeling and simulation to qualitatively inspect performance of magnetic parts and components, and their influences on space systems. Space missions require cost effective test programs to safeguard space systems from magnetic interferences and electromagnetic radiations. To reduce risk and increase safety leading to successful test programs, magnetic modeling and simulation was implemented to add value and provide analytical inspection to assist with the test programs. We will present our approach on modeling and simulation of problems such as remnant magnetization as well as application of external magnetic fields on hard and soft magnetic inclusions within targeted space systems.
Mary Boghosian and Ray Herman • The Aerospace Corp.
2:15 PM - Conference Conclusion |
