Overview
Power electronics involves the use of electrical and electronic systems to control power flow. It can be applied to various fields, including motors, drives, robotics, electric vehicles, renewable energy, and many other electrical systems.
The area of research may cover the following topics:
- Electrical machine, Drives, Robotics, and Actuation
- High frequency Power Conversion
- High Frequency Magnetics
- Renewable Energy and grid integration
- Power quality improvement
- Wide bandgap semiconductors, thermal management and packaging
- Electric vehicles are a major focus of our research, where we utilize power electronics to develop the vehicles' power conversion systems. Our development encompasses various modes of transport, including ground vehicles, vessels, aircraft, and space transport.
Our research areas include:
- Energy Management Systems: Focusing on batteries, supercapacitors, ammonia, and hydrogen.
- Electric Vehicle Components: Such as active suspension systems, anti-lock braking systems, and in-wheel motors.
- Autonomous Vehicles: Covering sensors, optimal routing, energy-saving controls, and steering systems.
- Charging Systems: Including fast charging, wireless power transfer, and battery swapping.
- Infrastructure: Addressing vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, smart mobility, high-speed vehicles, and vehicle security.
Examples of research work:
Wireless power transfer: WPT is a trending topic in power distribution and electric vehicle charging systems. This research focuses on developing new coil design topologies to improve power transfer, efficiency, new application of wireless power transfer and operational distance. Recent studies also aim to operate at high frequencies exceeding hundreds of kHz. Additionally, research in electromagnetic screening is a crucial area of development.
DC distribution: In light of the rapid advancements in power electronics, there is a significant opportunity for high-performance DC-to-DC power conversion, making it a viable alternative to conventional AC distribution. The majority of power sources and loads are DC. The development of DC power distribution is poised to be a key focus for the next generation of power distribution and conversion systems. Research efforts in this area include high-frequency power conversion, DC power quality, DC protection and safety, as well as high power transfer.
Electric vehicles: Our research area covers all types of electrified transportation, from ground vehicles to aerospace applications. This includes electrical machines, actuators, powertrains, energy storage, intelligent control systems, and charging infrastructure. Recent research focuses on vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies, high-performance energy management, new energy sources for vehicles such as hydrogen and ammonia, transitioning from mechanical and hydraulic systems to electric solutions, as well as smart control and autonomous vehicles.
High frequency power conversion: High-frequency power processing is a fundamental technique in power electronics that can be applied to various areas, including wireless power transfer, motor drives, chargers, power converters, power systems, renewable energy processing, and mobility. The research encompasses conversion systems for grid forming and grid following, switched-inductor converters, switched-capacitor converters, topology variations, and resonant power conversion.
