Design, Analysis and Application of Magnetless Doubly Salient Machines (Springer Theses)

This thesis investigates the key characteristics of magnetless doubly salient machines, evaluates their design philosophies, and proposes new topologies for various applications. It discusses the background of and previous research on magnetless machines, while also outlining upcoming trends and potential future developments.

The thesis begins by presenting various torque-improving structures - namely the multi-tooth structure, the double-rotor (DR) structure, the axial-field (AF) structure, and the flux-reversal (FR) structure - for magnetless machines. It subsequently addresses the idea of merging the design philosophies of two different machines to form new dual-mode machines. Thanks to a reconfigured winding arrangement and controllable DC-field excitation, the proposed machines can further extend their operating range to meet the extreme demands of applications in electric vehicles and wind power generation. Lastly, the thesis employs the finite element method (FEM) to thoroughly analyze the proposed machines’ key performance parameters and develops experimental setups to verify the proposed concepts.

For internal use only:EducationOct 2016‒present Postdoctoral Fellow with Croucher Fellowship Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Topic: Design of high-performance motors for emerging applications Supervisor: Prof. James KirtleyJun 2011‒Jul 2016 Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Thesis: Design, Analysis and Application of Magnetless Doubly Salient Machines Supervisors: Prof. C. C. Chan, and Prof. K. T. ChauSep 2005‒Jun 2009 Bachelor of Engineering with First Class Honor The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Major in Electrical Engineering, Minor in BusinessFeb 2007‒Jun 2007 University Exchange Student The University of Melbourne Melbourne, AustraliaResearch InterestElectric Machines and DrivesMagnetless machine, Axial-flux machine, Hybrid excitation machine, Dual-modemachine, Superconducting machine, Magnetic gear, Fault-tolerant controlRenewable Energy SystemsWind power generation, Wave power generation, Solar power generation, Smartgrid and renewable energy integrationElectromechanical Propulsion TechnologiesElectric and hybrid vehicle, Electric and more electric aircraft, Electric shipHonor
Aug 2017‒present Guest Associate EditorIEEE Transaction on Energy Conversion Piscataway, NJ Title: Emerging Electric Machines and Drives for Smart Energy Conversion Promote the paper session to the specialists Invite reviewers to review the submitted papers Manage the logistic issues of the paper sessionJul 2017 Li Ka Shing Prize (The Best Ph.D. Thesis Award) The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong A highly competitive award to recognize the academic merits Awarded to the best Ph.D. graduate of the year Nominated as the outstanding theses for publishing in the Springer ThesesOct 2016‒Oct 2018 Croucher Fellowship for Postdoctoral Research
Croucher Foundation Hong Kong A prestigious award to support the brilliant researchers to pursue scientific research at postdoctoral level in the world-class institution Over USD120,000 are offered as maintenance and research allowancesMar 2015 Invited Speaker of Professional Short Course The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) ‒ Electrical Division Hong Kong Title: Overview of modern electric vehicle technologies Delivered the latest knowledge to the academia and industry professionals Prepared the lecture notes and quiz materialsJun 2014 Best Project Award of Sichuan-Hong Kong Academic Interflow The Conference of Sichuan-Hong Kong Academic Interflow Sichuan, China Awarded by The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China An award offered to commend the Sichuan Reconstruction ProjectOct 2012 Best Oral Presentation Award of Special Session The Conference of IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON) Montreal, Canada Awarded by offered by IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON 2012) An prestigious award offered to the best representative of the special sessionJan 2012‒Sep 2016 Founding President IEEE‒Eta Kappa Nu, HKU chapter (1st chapter outside the US region) Hong Kong Assisted to launch the well-known honor society Raised the student’s research awareness Supervised and managed the academic-related activities