Phase I I/UCRC University of Connecticut Site: Center for Novel High Voltage/Temperature Materials and Structures (HVT)

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The ever increasing demand for electric power calls for new high voltage and temperature solutions to enhance the capacity and power flow control capabilities of the electrical power infrastructure. To address these needs, this grant will create a site at the University of Connecticut within the NSF IUCRC Center on High Voltage/Temperature currently led by the University of Denver, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Michigan Technological University. UConn will complement the Center?s excellence by bring in unique expertise in high voltage engineering and power system asset management to address these pressing concerns. To that end, UConn will create and study next generation high voltage materials to improve the efficiency and reliability of power infrastructure. The UConn site has brought together an interdisciplinary group of university researchers working jointly with companies and other research organizations to create new, advanced high voltage materials and structures. The goals of the Center include the creation of new, more efficient power materials, the creation of materials simulation capabilities and the development of monitor and repair methods for those materials. These advances are applied to the electrical grid and other industries, such as the aerospace industry. The UConn site will enhance these objectives by focusing on high voltage materials and how best to integrate them into future power grids.This UConn site will advance the Center?s vision of using the most advanced aerospace technologies to design novel materials and structures for the next generation electrical grid. To that end, Uconn will employ techniques such as pulsed electroacoustic and laser induced pulse pressure methods with ab initio quantum computation to better understand how high voltage materials age and how to improve their lifecycle and performance. In turn, nanostructured dielectric materials will be engineered for high voltage components and systems with game-changing characteristics for efficient energy conversion, transmission and distribution, power flow control, harsh environmental electrification and renewable integration with enormous potential economic impacts. We will conduct cooperative research on high voltage system asset management for the protection, health monitoring, diagnosis and prognosis of critical assets. The site will also develop full life-cycle, reliability centric predictive asset management strategies, statistics, data management techniques, economics and IT integration. The advancements made possible by this site will improve the reliability and efficiency of future power grids and the integration of renewable energy sources with significant potential benefits for the United States and the world.