The Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics – Update, May 2005

1. The Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics – Update, May 2005 P. Krein, Director P. Chapman, J. Kimball, T. Overbye Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering

2. Highlights • The Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics (CEME) covers our activities in machines and energy conversion. • Our electrical machinery course enrolled 38 students this year. Growing numbers of undergraduate students seek energy-based projects. • The CEME supports long-term research efforts and education innovations.

3. Highlights • CEME students received an award for Best in Category in the national power supply energy efficiency competition. • The Future Energy Challenge team has just been announced as a Finalist. • Two students received major fellowships in the past month. • Experiment infrastructure projects have greatly enhanced our research capability and enhanced our courses.

4. Motor Research • Extensive tests have been performed on machines we have constructed or modified. • Details of design requirements are being explored. Rotary test. Linear test

5. Laboratory Infrastructure • Power inverter for motor and control testing. • Design and construc-tion details of oureducation labequipment are freelyavailable.

6. Efficiency Challenge • The CEME sponsored a team for the joint Department of Energy/California Energy Commission Efficiency Challenge. • The challenge: large efficiency improvement for a specific type of small power supply. • Our team received a “best in category” prize. • This was major news at the recent Applied Power Electronics Conference.

7. Future Energy Challenge • The CEME sponsors a team for the IEEE International Future Energy Challenge. • The task in 2005: design a motor and drive combination to deliver 500 W over a wide speed range, and achieve system cost of $40. • The team was just announced as a Finalist Team for the competition, to be held at MPC in August. • The team is making all their hardware, including the machine.

8. Sample Projects • Analytical methods for machine design. This applies fundamentals of electromagnetics to build design-oriented analytic models. • Today symbolic tools like Mathematica make it possible to re-visit this fundamental approach.

9. Sample Projects • The power buffer, a method to use power electronics in loads to mitigate power system dynamics. • Power electronics, such as for an advanced motor drive, is made to present a constant impedance to the grid during short-term disturbances. • Without this control, power electronics presents constant power to the grid, and tends to destabilize it.

10. Sample Projects • Small-scale power converters for single-unit micro fuel cells. • Induction machine drives for 42 V automotive applications. • Local control for distributed ac and dc systems. • Multi-port energy conversion methods. • Low-distortion low-loss PWM methods. • Advanced methods for motor control.

11. Collaborative Network • Collaboration with the College of Engineering. • National informal collaboration network: • University of California (Berkeley) • Georgia Tech • Ohio State • Oregon State • Purdue • University of Wisconsin (Madison) • A near-term objective is to grow the industry interaction and outreach program.

12. Spin-Off Status • SmartSpark Energy Systems, theCenter’s first startup company, is nowworking on a funding round. • This start-up firm works on advancedenergy products such as convertersfor fuel cells and solar cells,and energy saving methodsfor machines. • Battery management is alsoa major thrust.

13. Conclusion • The Grainger CEME covers our work in machines. • We want to leverage practical issues and design concerns with long-term research challenges. • Energy conversion on allscales.