Compact motor from VEM to drive rotation tanks
The DRESDYN experiment at the Helmholtz Centre in Dresden Rossendorf is researching into the origin of the Earth’s magnetic field in its liquid core.
The data needed for the project will come from a rotation tank more than two metres in size and full of liquid metal. The tank rotates around two separate axes at a rate of one and ten revolutions per second each. The precession dynamic should then indicate the possible origin of the Earth’s magnetic field in the liquid core. A specialised VEM motor based on a design used for railways will be driving the tank – a motor that is compact enough for the job.
The Centre is currently having a special building constructed for the experiment. The tank will be spinning at high speed, so the foundations will need to be secured down to twenty-two metres below grade. The precession dynamo system is set to begin after this part has been completed, and will be performed as part of the DRESDYN project (DREsden Sodium Facility for DYNamo and thermohydraulic studies) at the Helmholtz Centre in Dresden Rossendorf. The company SBS Bühnentechnik ordered the motor from VEM.