Intelligent power electronics based converter modules for the more electric aircraft

Type of award PhD Research Studentship Department Electrical and Electronic Engineering Details Studentship covers fees three years of full UK/EU PhD tuition fees (equivalent to 3440 p.a.) and a tax-free bursary of 13,590pa

Duration 3 years Eligibility Home/EU applicants only Minimum of 2:1 Bachelors degree or equivalent Deadline open until filled

PhD Topic Background/Description

In a bid to reduce the environmental impact of its aircraft in the face of an ever-increasing market for cheap and reliable international travel, the civil aerospace sector is moving away from distributed hydraulic and pneumatic on-board power systems and switching to equivalent electric systems. The main design drivers for this move are weight and/or volume reduction systems having multiple functions reduced maintenance and through-life costs improved functionality (intelligent operation/actuation)

A key area for the development of enabling compact electric energy conversion systems is that of power electronic based converters. Current power converter efficiencies tend to require a liquid cooling system which carries a significant penalty at the aircraft level. Optimisation of the power converters at aircraft level should enable the liquid cooling system to be removed entirely. However, in order to achieve this goal a substantial effort needs to be made in improving converter efficiencies. This will form the basis for the study associated with the PhD. PhD Specific Aims/Objectives The broad aim of this PhD will be to determine the state of technology and modes of operation of power converters being used in current aircraft systems and assess areas that would benefit most from improved efficiency of operation. The resulting intelligent power conversion system will be designed, evaluated and optimised before a full prototype system is constructed and tested on the world class facilities offered by the Electrical Energy Management Group at the University of Bristol.

Further Particulars
Candidate Requirements You will ideally have a undergraduate degree with a 1st, 2:1 or equivalent in electrical engineering or a closely related subject. Experience of any/all of the following areas would be advantageous to the successful candidate: Power electronics system design and simulation (switches, gate drivers and controllers) Prototype design, build and testing of power electronic and electro-mechanical energy conversion systems Knowledge of relevant software/hardware environments (MATLAB, SIMULINK, SimPower Systems/Simscape) Loss and performance assessment in power electronic systems

The successful candidate will join a team of multi-disciplinary researchers reporting to the industrial sponsor on a quarterly basis, and interfacing with the Technical Customer within the industrial sponsor on a regular basis. This will require you to communicate the work both internally and externally and identify strategic areas for its incorporation into other areas of existing research. Scholarship Details The research proposed is sponsored by an industrial partner that will offer the successful candidate up to a maximum of three years of full UK/EU PhD tuition fees (equivalent to 3440 p.a.) and a taxfree bursary of 13,590 p.a. As a result of the level of fees covered by the scholarship it is only open to UK/EU candidates (no applications from overseas fees paying students please). Informal enquiries Any queries can be directed to Dr David Drury (d.drury@bristol.ac.uk) with the title of the post in the subject line of the email. Application Details To apply for this studentship submit a PhD application using our online application system [www.bristol.ac.uk/pg-howtoapply]

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