FPeT: Framework for designing piezoelectric transformer power supplies

大多数电气设备需要电源，电源通常包括一个磁力变压器，以提供安全隔离，并提高或降低输入电压。尤其是在需要高功率密度、低电磁干扰和高温运行的应用中，压电变压器(PTS)为传统变压器提供了一种令人振奋的选择。然而，由于电源设计者需要同时拥有材料科学和电力电子方面的知识和培训，以及在工业甚至学术界很少找到的专业知识的结合，它们的广泛采用受到了阻碍。缺乏知识基础对希望采用PT技术的电源制造商来说是一个真正的障碍，因此PTS只有很小的市场渗透率。该项目通过产生一个多物理设计框架来解决这些问题，该框架提供了对基础科学的抽象，从而允许设计工程师专注于整体系统设计。该框架通过一系列基于电路和材料的转换，将高级电源规范转换为PT电源解决方案。优化过程(使用进化计算和有限元分析)产生完全个性化的最终设计。这一过程的输出包括电路设计和压电变压器的“配方”，包括材料和结构细节，以适合制造的格式呈现。该框架将被封装在一个用户友好的软件设计工具中，并根据该项目的行业合作伙伴建议的真实世界电源应用进行验证，从而确保研究的相关性。该研究将超越电气工程和材料科学之间的传统障碍，拥有一支在这两个领域都有专业知识的研究团队。除了开发框架外，该研究还将开发特别适合高温操作的新型压电材料，在航空航天、石油/天然气勘探、电动汽车以及恶劣环境下的远程监控等多个应用领域找到希望。此外，通过开发符合2016年危险物质限制的新材料，将减少对环境有害的含铅PTS的需求。研究计划将在一个开放的研讨会上达到高潮，在那里，工业界和学术界的研究人员可以了解PT电源并自行评估设计工具。为了确保这项研究仍然具有工业意义，我们与几家领先的公司合作，这些公司将提供专业知识和商业动力，作为回报，他们将获得准备好商业化的概念验证电源。

Most electrical equipment requires a power supply which usually incorporates a magnetic transformer to provide safety isolation and to step up or step down the input voltage. Piezoelectric transformers (PTs) offer an exciting alternative to conventional transformers particularly in applications requiring high power density, low electromagnetic interference and high temperature operation. Their widespread adoption is hindered, however, by the need for power supply designers to possess knowledge and training in both materials science and power electronics, combined expertise that is rarely found in industry or even academia. This lacking knowledge base represents a real impediment for power supply manufacturers who may wish to adopt PT technology and consequently PTs have only seen marginal market penetration.The project addresses these issues by producing a multi-physics design framework which provides abstraction from the fundamental science and therefore allows the design engineer to focus on the overall system design. The framework converts a high-level power supply specification into a PT power supply solution through a series of circuit and materials based transformations. An optimisation process (using evolutionary computing and finite element analysis) produces a fully characterised final design. The output of this process includes a circuit design and a "recipe" for the piezoelectric transformer, including materials and construction details presented in a format suitable for manufacture. The framework will be encapsulated in a user-friendly software design tool and validated against real-world power supply applications suggested by the project's industrial partners thereby ensuring the relevance of the research.The research, which will transcend the traditional barriers between electrical engineering and materials science, has an investigatory team with expertise in both areas. As well as developing a framework, the research will develop novel piezoelectric materials particularly suited to high temperature operation, finding promise in a number of application areas including aerospace, oil/gas exploration, electric vehicles and for remote monitoring in harsh environments. Additionally, the need for environmentally damaging lead-based PTs will be diminished through the development of new materials which comply with Restriction on Hazardous Substances 2016.The research programme will culminate in an open workshop where industry and academic researchers can learn about PT power supplies and evaluate the design tool for themselves. To ensure that the research remains industrially relevant we have partnered with several leading companies who will provide expertise and commercial drive and in return they will receive proof-of-concept power supplies ready for commercialisation.