IUCRC Planning Grant University of Pittsburgh: Center for Advanced Magnetics for Power and Energy Development (AMPED)

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Trends towards electrification are driving the needs for improved soft magnetic materials that can operate at unprecedented combinations of switching frequencies and power levels, as well as engineered components which are highly power dense yet extremely efficient. These trends are also creating major new economic opportunities for the domestic US, through anticipated growth in electric vehicles, hybrid-electric aircraft, and distributed renewable generation amongst others. The primary emphasis of the proposed Center for Advanced Magnetics for Power and Energy Development (AMPED) will be the critically important area of high-power magnetics and the optimization of interfaces with both established and emerging electrical machine topologies and designs within this application class. Successfully tackling challenges and exploiting these opportunities as a nation and an economy requires interdisciplinary skills spanning materials science, applied physics, and electrical engineering, as well as collaborations between end-users of components (motors, transformers, inductors, etc.) and the materials and manufacturing community. The proposed AMPED center seeks to address this need for a new generation of an interdisciplinary workforce of the future that is prepared and eager to take on the new challenges presented by widespread adoption of electrification and growth in electric power conversion technologies.Primary research thrust areas included within the AMPED portfolio include: (1) new magnetic materials and manufacturing for wide bandgap and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors, (2) advanced electric machine design concepts, (3) new design and optimization techniques for magnetic components, (4) interactions between wide bandgap power electronics converters and magnetics, (5) advanced power electronics converter topologies enabled by and leveraging next generation magnetics, e.g., multiport power conversion, and (6) tunable and variable magnetics technologies and their applications in advanced power conversion schemes. Strong collaborations between sites are planned, with unique capabilities residing at each institution: Carnegie Mellon University - amorphous and nanocrystalline magnetic materials and manufacturing, North Carolina State University – wide bandgap-based semiconductor power electronics and high-speed motor controls and testing, University of Pittsburgh – ferrite based soft magnetic materials and electromagnetic field assisted advanced manufacturing, component design strategies, and magnetics / power electronics interfaces. University of Pittsburgh will serve as lead site and will ensure integration of emerging magnetic materials and manufacturing technologies with advanced magnetic component designs and, ultimately, the integration within electrical machines. More specifically, University of Pittsburgh will leverage its capabilities and facilities for research spanning: (1) design, synthesis, and characterization of new soft magnetic materials; (2) advanced manufacturing processes including electromagnetic field assisted processing and additive manufacturing; (3) multi-objective optimization and machine learning based design methods for advanced magnetic components and their interface with power electronics converters and motors; (4) power electronics and motor hardware prototype development; and (5) testing and characterization of magnetic components, power electronics converters, high speed motors, and controllers. University of Pittsburgh offers facilities for medium voltage electric power conversion research and development (up to 15kV, 5MVA) as well as full-scale magnetic material and component manufacturing, design, and testing under conditions directly relevant for electric machine applications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.