Engineering Students Accepted for Publication at Applied Power Electronics Conference

Four undergraduate students, along with two graduate students and their mentor, will have their research published at the Applied Power Electronics Conference in Orlando this March.

The authors of the paper include Tucker Skinner, Dakota Goodrich, McKay Waite, Conner Sabin, Aditya Zade, Sanat Poddar and Assistant Professor Hongjie Wang. Zade and Poddar are graduate students.

This is the same group that was awarded the grand prize at the International Future Energy Challenge in 2022. Waite, Sabin and Skinner are also engineering undergraduate research scholars and were provided this opportunity through the program.

Their paper, “Design and Control of Three-Phase Smart Inverter Using Gate-Drive Integrated Gallium Nitride Devices for Solar Energy Integration,” focuses on the testing of a smart inverter that monitors grid conditions and alters power fed to the grid as needed.

The three-phase smart inverter is a power converter that converts direct current between panels for electric grids. It can be used as an interface between renewable energy sources, battery energy storage, and the electric power grid while also reducing costs and making it easier to use electric grid technology.

Their research showed that grid service capability, including voltage and frequency regulation during high-strain conditions, was supported as multiple grid conditions were tested. The paper also adds to the advancement of smart inverters by using gallium nitride devices with integrated gate drivers, which can be used at lower voltage and lower power, instead of other insulators.

The Applied Power Electronics Conference, commonly known as APEC, is the top-ranking conference for power electronics professionals. Thousands of industry and business partners, researchers and students from across the country attend every year.

“We are excited to attend such a prestigious conference,” Wang said. “I am proud of these students and the hard work they put into the research for this publication.”

Three other student papers were accepted for publication at APEC, co-authored by graduate students and faculty throughout the College of Engineering. Each focuses on new charging technologies and thermal model results and can be found in more detail below:

“Novel Gerber File-based Numerical Modeling and Simulation for Thermal Analysis of Printed Circuit Boards,” by Paul Ziegenfelder, Nick Roberts and Hongjie Wang.

“An 18 kW Battery Charger Module for Extreme Fast Charging Applications Using an Unfolding-Based AC-DC Topology,” by Shubhangi Gurudiwan, Rees Hatch, Regan Zane and Hongjie Wang.

“Analysis and Mitigation of Sector Transition Distortions for Unfolding-Based Grid-Tied AC-DC Converters,” by Aditya Zade, Shubhangi Gurudiwan, Sanat Poddar, Mahmoud Mansour and Regan Zane.