Shivang with adviser A. Banerjee Turboelectric propulsion uses no batteries for propulsive energy during any phase of flight (unlike hybrid and all-electric systems) and is considered a critical enabler for low-carbon emissions in the aircraft industry. As batteries with high enough power capacity and the specific power required for commercial aircraft are unlikely to be […]
Ceramic 3D Printed Direct Winding Heat Exchanger for High Ambient Temperature Operation of Electric Machines
CEME Collaborator Bulent Sarlioglu with Research Assistant William Sixel at University of Wisconsin-Madison Increasing the power density of electric machines operating in high ambient temperatures is a challenge as all the materials involved must be rated for operation at those temperatures. To improve cooling in electric machines exposed to temperatures greater than 400°C, a 3D-printed […]
Multi-Physics Optimization of High-Frequency Air-Core Permanent-Magnet Motor for Aircraft Applications
Xuan (Melody) Yi with adviser K. Haran The aviation industry demands environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient aircraft to be sustainable. It has been theoretically shown that superconducting machines can power electric airplanes to carry hundreds of people. These machines apply superconducting technology to produce dramatically high flux density and high current density, and thus reduce weight […]
A Fully Superconducting Air-Core Machine for Hydrogen-Powered Electric Aircraft Propulsion
Balachandran Thanatheepan with adviser K. Haran Cryogenic hydrogen-energy electric transport aircraft (CHEETA) is a concept proposed to utilize the high specific energy content of liquid hydrogen (LH2) through fuel-cell energy conversion and an ultra-efficient distributed electric propulsion system. The concept uses LH2 not only as the energy storage mechanism, but also as a cryogen to […]
Design of Low-Inductance Generator for Large-Scale Wind Turbines
Samith Sirimanna with adviser K. Haran Generators used in wind turbine applications include a variety of topologies depending on the power level and the operating speed. Some of the large-scale wind turbine manufacturers are increasingly interested in direct-drive generators, which improve reliability by eliminating the gear box. Among other candidates, permanent magnet (PM) generators are […]
Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing of Microgrid Secondary-Frequency Control Schemes
Siddhartha Nigam with advisers P. Sauer and A. Domínguez-García In this work we describe a controller hardware-in-the loop (C-HIL) approach for testing centralized and distributed secondary frequency control schemes of ac microgrids operating in islanded mode. Several coordination and control schemes for microgrid secondary frequency control have been proposed. They have primarily utilized centralized and […]
Development of a Method for Synchronizing Two or More Microgrids Operating in Islanded Mode with the Goal of Electrically Connecting Them
Olaoluwapo Ajala with A. Domínguez-García The popularity of the microgrid has grown as adoption of distributed energy resources (DERS) has accelerated. Loosely speaking, a microgrid is defined as a collection of DERs and loads interconnected via an electrical network with a small physical footprint, which can operate as part of a large power system (grid-connected […]
A Reliable Set-Point Tracking Algorithm to Extend the Utility of Solar Arrays
Jason Galtieri with adviser P. Krein Maximum power point (MPP) tracking is the standard control scheme for photovoltaic (PV) arrays of all sizes. Inverter tracking algorithms work on second to sub-second time scales and can track most naturally occurring irradiance changes, such as moving cloud coverage. Fast response tracking imposes large power swings on the […]
Second Solar Decathlon China: Final Contest Results for Team SJT/UIUC
The Second Solar Decathlon China, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and China National Energy Administration, comprised twenty-two teams from forty-one schools in ten countries/regions competing in Dezhou, Shandong Province in 2018. Team SJT/UIUC is a joint Team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). SJT/UIUC’s entry, […]
A Distributed and Scalable Electromechanical Actuator for Bio-Inspired Robots
MS student Bonhyun Ku with advisor A. Banerjee Animal-like robots, such as snake robots, quadruped robots, and humanoid robots, require dynamic motion and simple mechanical design. However, most have complicated mechanical designs and low actuation speed due to conventional dc motors with gears. We propose a design and architecture for an alternative electromechanical actuation system. […]