Power Electronics is more Electronics than it is Power. We still use transistors, diodes, resistors and capacitors, along with more specialised devices such as IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors). The emphasis in this lab is to build working 'things' and the use of these to solve a problem.
Examples of past and present research include:
- Electric Car Projects (eg Quad-bike, Jet-ski, MR2, Land Cruiser)
- Variable speed AC motor drives
- HV Pulse inverter for cancer therapy and liquid disinfection
- Active power filter (power-line conditioning)
- Characterisation and use of Silicon-Carbide devices in telecommunications power converters
- High power lead-acid battery charger
- Smart power converter for small power generation systems (developing country application)
Most research involves the use of switching power electronics. Switching power supplies and amplifiers are far more efficient than their linear counterparts. This becomes very important when the power levels are large, if the power supply is limited (as in a battery powered device), or both (as in an electric car).
Power Electronics brings together theory from all aspects of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The main disciplines are:
- Analogue electronics
- Control theory
- Analogue communications
- Electromagnetics
- Electrical machines
However, the following fields are becoming increasingly important:
- Digital electronics
- Computer hardware
- Embedded software engineering
See Postgraduate study to find the current research projects.
