EMAS proposed a technological research program enabling to develop, validate and manufacture eight actuators presenting high performance and high reliability for high speed applications under high temperature environment. Such actuators were capable of producing 5 N.m torque under 10.000 rpm for an environmental temperature of 100 C involving low short circuit current and will be supplied by sine wave power converters. They presented high power density and low mass by conveniently exploiting high energy - high temperature Neodymium alloy permanent magnet materials in conjunction with optimized motor topologies and high-speed sensor technologies.

The proposed methodology involved three stages devoted to the preliminary actuator design, to the critical actuator design and to the actuator manufacturing and testing activities, respectively.

Several technologies were evaluated at a high temperature level and, then, the best of these technologies will be improved before its integration in the final prototype. The research for motor concept involved a comparison of permanent magnet machine topologies: internal and surface permanent magnet machine topologies are going to be compared, by means of classical motor analysis and design procedures coupled with numerical magnetic field analysis and simulation software, for their ability to provide low short circuit current and produce sinusoidal flux distribution.

Moreover, optical and magnetic position sensors were compared both on their ability to provide sufficient details on motor position and speed in very low and high-speed ranges and their capacity to withstand the required temperature conditions. The criteria analysed for each candidate architecture were the integration density level (mass volume), the simplification of interfaces between subassembly, the thermal management performances, the ability for the technologies selected to fulfil any reliability objectives.