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Research

Our research is actively conducted by a diverse team of faculty at all academic ranks, along with Master's and PhD students and research associates. In recent years we have expanded our research focus to include more research in computing. Some of our programs are aided by strong support from industry leaders.

Ongoing Funded Research (2021- )

Interconnection Study of Multiple Solar Plants

Project Summary: This project investigates the interaction study of multiple PV farms at the same Point of Interconnection (POI). This includes sensitivity analysis based on plant controller gains, inverter controller, and PLL gains. Sensitivity analysis is to identify if there is an oscillation for some value of the gains. The stable ranges of the controller gains and PLL gains are determined and then the optimal gain settings are obtained. The projects also investigates the effect of tripping a PV plant and reclosing transients on the PV plant controls and determine if the existing reclosing practices are sufficient.

Solar Plant Short Circuit Model

Project Summary:  This project will analyze the impact of inverter-based resources (IBRs) on Transmission protection and develop recommendations for steady state IBR models in short circuit programs. By leveraging the capabilities of EMTP in modeling IBR units and recording the transient response, the project will be able to analyze the response of the protective relays to the actual system signals. This analysis will be the basis for developing recommendations for IBR protection study models in the short circuit programs. The differentiating factor for this project is that the IBR model developed would be in accordance with the latest industry standard (IEEE P2800) version at the time of the project start so that performance requirements like voltage ride through, frequency response etc. are accurately accounted for.

Dual-pole Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines for Marine Propulsion: Analytical Modeling and Magnetic Volume Reduction

Project Summary: Given the high cost of high-energy Rare-Earth (RE) materials, there is growing interest within the naval industry in breakthrough technologies that reduce the consumption of high-energy Permanent Magnets (PMs) in electromechanical energy conversion systems. This project proposes two innovative solutions to minimize the use of expensive high-energy magnetic materials in electric machines. The first solution is based on the concept of hybrid magnetic structure, where a portion of the high-energy RE magnet is replaced by the low-energy Ferrite magnet. The second solution is based on the concept of “Induced Poles,” where a portion of the physical RE magnets is removed and replaced by induced magnets. The focus of the proposed study is on PM motors used for electric propulsion of naval and security ships. These vessels are often powered by synchronous motors at low speed for loitering, station-keeping and by diesels or gas turbines at high speed for cruising, evasive maneuvers, often with efficiency and reliability concerns. The design process involves analytical modeling at the early design stage and numerical analysis at final stages for design refinement.