3x PhD position within the National Growth funding Project (TePs)

Power Electronics & Electromagnetic Compatibility, the UT researchers will focus on power electronics, their control through firmware and electromagnetic compatibility of these systems. The activities include, but are not limited to modelling and testing of electronics in the operating environment as specified within aviation standards like RTCA DO160 and RTCA DO254. In the domain of aerospace, weight and volume are constrained. Hence, part of the research focuses on reducing the volume and weight of passive components using modeling and verification via scalable technology demonstrators. This will require finding a good match between the power electronics in the power supply, the propagation path and the power user(s), while maintaining control of temperature drift. Keeping the optimal temperature per component within an acceptable operating temperature range should be controlled through control and optimization algorithms, which are implemented in firmware. The system functions, prioritization of system functions, and the stability and functionality of them, in case of occurring system failures should be thoroughly set up. To this end, an investigation of the stationary and non-stationary characteristics of the control system will be carried out.

The project is part of the National Growth Fund, and thus the main goal is to develop systems (products) with significant revenue potential. The researchers at the University of Twente are responsible for developing the knowledge and technology needed for the realization of these systems. Therefore, the three researchers will require to collaborate intensively with each other, and the project partners, as each research has a main focal point in the domains: Power Electronics, Electromagnetic compatibility or Control & signal processing.