Fateh awarded NSF grant to develop smart coil technology for AC motors
MANHATTAN — Fariba Fateh, assistant professor in the Mike Wiegers Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering at Kansas State University, has received a National Science Foundation grant to develop smart coil technology for use in high-performance alternating current, or AC, motor drives.
Fateh will lead K-State's portion of the nearly $500,000 three-year project, "Collaborative Research: Smart Coils for AC Motors," alongside co-principal investigator Behrooz Mirafzal, a George Yeh and Michelle Munson-Serban Simu Keystone research scholar and professor of electrical and computer engineering. The funding will be split as two collaborative NSF grants with the collaborator at the University of Kentucky, Jiangbiao He, serving as principal investigator of Kentucky's portion.
AC motor drives are widely used in emerging technologies such as electric vehicles and robotics to control the speed or position of a mechanical scheme. Advancements in semiconductor materials have enabled electrical engineers to design ultrafast switches and motor drive systems with higher efficiency and power density, but with a reduction in the lifespan of the motor.
"This research will address reliability concerns through developing the technology of smart coils via adaptive control schemes," Fateh said. "Since the proposed technology avoids the conventional bulky and lossy filters, it will advance the compactness of high-performance motor drive systems."
In this project, which directly involves domestic and international students, innovative educational modules will be developed to inspire prospective students to pursue education and careers in applications of control theories in power electronics and motor-drive systems.
"Once these students graduate and join the industry, they will be competent engineers capable of developing the new generation of electric powertrains for various applications," Fateh said.
