Electrical

Machines and Drives Laboratory

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
National University of Singapore
Research Projects
Development of Energy Efficient Propulsion System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
The objective of this research project is to develop an energy efficient propulsion
system for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). A hybrid propulsion system is proposed,
which aims to reduce the fuel consumption of the UAV thereby increasing the endurance time.
The hybrid UAV propulsion system consists of internal combustion engine, generator, motor,
battery, propeller and transmission mechanism. Two major issues are addressed in the hybrid
propulsion system design: high power density and high efficiency of the overall system. To
achieve optimal system integration and meanwhile reach the targeted efficiency of the
propulsion system, research work in the following aspects are conducted: (1) development of
efficient AC-DC rectifier; (2) development of efficient DC-DC bi-directional converter; (3)
development of sensor-less PMSM drive.

Condition Monitoring and Prognostics Of Electrical Equipment

Critical systems are becoming more and more complex to ensure functionality and
reliability requirements. These systems often consist of a large number of subsystems or
components, which interact with each other and collectively influence the system
performance and reliability. As a result, conventional reliability analysis and asset
management methods have significant shortfalls and face great challenges. For example, in a
large-scale power or petro-chemical plants, many components are designed to work for
decades. However, as the components deteriorate, the system might not work in an optimal
way, leading to significant (opportunity) cost. On the other hand, for such expensive
components, any decision on maintenance or replacement has enormous financial impact. In
addition, due to geographical, environmental, or usage differences, maintenance strategies
and asset management policies proven to work in one place might completely fail in a
different place. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop a comprehensive set of
condition monitoring and asset management methods, which take the real time operation and
condition information into account, to provide quantitative and rigorous decision support for
system monitoring, maintenance planning, and strategic asset managements.

Renewable energy based high performance power electronic converters for green
data centers Funded by A*Star
Phase 1 AC Power Distribution : In AC powered data centers, the three-phase loads
are unbalanced considering that per phase computing demand is stochastic in nature. A three
phase-four-wire supply with a neutral path is needed to power the unbalanced loads. In this
work, a three-phase inverter with a neutral lag is used in the AC Uninterruptible Power
Supply (UPS) design, which provides a path for neutral current. The objective of this research
work is to eliminate or minimize the neutral current such that the thermal losses in the
neutral wire can be reduced and the power usage efficiency (PUE) in date centers can be
improved. Three different methods are proposed to control the amplitudes and the mutual
phase differences of the inverter output voltages. The effectiveness of the proposed strategies
is validated through intensive experimental testing. The proposed AC UPS power supply
architecture enables to power the server computers with the same 230V AC (optimal
efficiency operation of servers) while supplying the data center with three-phase-three-wire
utility power supply.

Phase 2 DC Power Distribution :DC distribution is becoming a new voltage

interface for telecommunication buildings because of the fact that almost all of the critical
payloads in the data center are DC loads. With the penetration of renewable energy sources in
the distribution networks, the paradigm is shifting towards DC powered Data Centers. In a
typical DC power architecture the efficiency is low due to huge transmission, distribution
losses and also the power conversion stages are not optimized. This will affect the Power
Usage Efficiency of the Data Center. In this research work, a novel DC distribution
architecture is proposed with less power conversion stages which can provide higher
efficiency than the typical DC distribution system. This work proposes a new three-phase ACDC single stage 9 switch converter to provide 380 Vdc transmission bus and 48 Vdc
distribution bus.

Marine Vessels Electric Propulsion Systems
Under the Singapore Maritime Institutes Maritime Energy Systems (SMI-MES) R&D
Programme, this project aims to address the needs of maritime sector towards development of
innovative and unique solutions to manage energy usage and efficiency. To accomplish this,
novel electric propulsion architectures for marine vessels are investigated with design,
development and analysis of integrated on board power system for optimal operation at
system level under various mission profiles of the vessels. The research is conducted on
development of intelligent power management system (PMS) to solve various complicated
operational tasks where the control objectives differ depending on the particular kind of
operation and environmental circumstances. With integration of advanced power electronics,
machines, energy storage and control technologies in such PMS, it is targeted to enhance the
performance of the marine vessels in terms of reduced volume, weight, operational & life cycle
costs, maintenance, fuel consumption and gas emission with improved efficiency, quality and
reliability of shipboard power supply. This research is in the leading edge of the current
developments in marine technology and the outcome of the project is anticipated to be of
significant contribution to the marine research, and can provide operators of marine vessels
with powerful decision-making tools for optimum operation of the vessel.

Intelligent Information Management System in Smart Buildings Using Multi

AgentEnabled Wireless SensorActuator Network
This project intends to implement real-time Energy Informatics and strategic decision
making, with the Electrical Information System (EIS) as its back-bone for energy
management in buildings, especially in the tropics. The Building Management and
Information System (BMIS) would be developed based on Systems Thinking to achieve energy
efficiency along with human comfort while maintaining good indoor air-quality. This new
approach is possible through Wireless Sensor-Actuator Network (WSAN) which enables
distributed sensing, simple decision-making and actuation of local loads. The act of decisionmaking, facilitated by multi-agent technologies, is possible both locally and globally. The
Systems Engineering approach would help electrically operated devices not only perform
towards meeting their local optimality, but also optimality of the system in a holistic manner.
This project also intends to develop dashboards as a part of the overall project, through which
authenticated users can visualize data flow, make qualitative assessments and take necessary
corrective actions if needed. It is anticipated that the proposed research work would be able to
reduce the overall energy consumption of the building by at least 15-20% while maintaining
user comfort and without sacrificing quality living. Moreover, the proposed research work can
also be extended with the inclusion of suitable additional sensors for water conservation as
well as cooking gas usage from safety point of view in residential buildings in Singapore.

Analysis of High Voltage AC/DC Power Transmission and Penetration of

Renewables for Subsea Power System Distribution Network
This project addresses issues in subsea electric power system equipment technology
through the analyses of suitable electric power transmission schemes from onshore facilities,
their efficiency comparisons, harmonic analysis with accurate medium/long transmission line
models, reactive power compensations, real-time monitoring, fault identification as well as
location and control along with data analytics for predictive maintenance of the subsea
electrical equipment. This multifarious project focuses on the effective operation of the subsea
power system (both transmission and distribution), their energy efficiency and increment in
reliability. Coupled with condition monitoring of the electrical equipment, data analytics
generated would help to exercise predictive estimation of the system states that could possibly
be used for advanced control of the electrical equipment. This calls for incorporation of
advanced information processing of continual sensor outputs and embedded intelligence in
the monitoring devices. The most desired low-maintenance-equipment objective could be
achieved through accurate understanding of the relations between transmission, distribution
and terminal power consumptions and their real-time monitoring. Enhanced life-time of the
equipment would be an implicit benefit.

Underwater Vehicle Technology Star Fish II

Our team at Electric Machines and Drives Lab (EMDL), NUS has designed and
developed 5 unmanned underwater vehicle prototypes based on biology principles that we
believe is key to the future marine robotics. The research aim is to replicate in a robot, the
locomotion of vertebrate animals like fish, turtle etc. by translating this biological
phenomenon into locomotion design, actuation, sensing and control mechanisms. At the
same time, we can also use the robot model to understand the kinematic behavior of biological
vertebrate fish. To this end, we have developed an optimal model-based design and control of
bio-inspired underwater vehicle propulsion for fluid environments. The robotic fish is
propelled by a single oscillating n-joint caudal fin and two pectoral fins. The robot model is
based on kinematic studies of actual yellow-fin tuna. To generate thrust for forward
movements, we have used a bio-inspired algorithm based on Lighthills slender body theory
and central pattern generators, to produce a body wave along the robots joints. A
comprehensive comparative study of the different kinematic parameters of the robotic fish
and the kinematic behavior of actual fish has been carried out. This study also lays the
foundation for generating the robot behavior mimicking real fish. We are able to demonstrate
the feasibility of a real-time flexible-bodied robotic fish underwater vehicle using the proven
Lighthill framework. The team has also tested various standard control strategies to stabilize
and maneuver the vehicles motion in fluid. The new propulsion system has been shown to be
time-effective, fuel-efficient, more agile and less noisy while boasting stealth features. Other
than the above work, we have developed an omnidirectional underwater robot prototype
which is designed to harvest wave energy. We have also been doing experiments with different
soft actuators like Electroactive polymers (EAP), Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC) and
Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) to investigate muscle like actuation for the robotic fish
propulsion and other bio-inspired mechanisms.

Solar Energy Harvesting and Active Energy Management System for NanoSatellites
Over the past few years, the growth of small satellites has fuelled the need for compact
and modular power supplies. The Electrical Power System (EPS) for nanosatellite is highly
specialized power supply with many sophisticated features. The primary function of EPS is to
convert/condition and distribute power to different loads of nanosatellite. It also stores
energy for eclipse period and peak demands. Improving the conversion efficiency with
optimum size of energy storage device leads to the development of various power electronic
converter topologies that could effectively improve the power-weight ratio and reliability of
the converter. This project aims to design and develop space qualified EPS powered by solar
power. The main focus of research lies in developing efficient electric system topology,
Maximum Peak Power Tracking (MPPT) converters and load regulators. It also deals with
optimization of power source and battery storage for efficient utilization of available energy.

High Power Density Converters for More Electric Aircraft (MEA)

The More Electric Aircraft (MEA) is one of the significant steps taken by aerospace
industries in direction of having more efficient and reliable aircraft system. Adopting the MEA
achieves numerous benefits such as improving the aircraft performance and decreasing
operating and maintenance costs. However, MEA also puts challenge in terms of high power
density and high power efficiency required for power electronic converters. Therefore, it
becomes imperative to investigate and develop power electronic converters of reduced weight
and increased efficiency without compromising the reliability and Electromagnetic
Interference (EMI) standards specified by aerospace industries.
Various types of power converters have emerged in the wake of making power
converters more suitable for MEA systems. Recent advances in semiconductor devices has
also fuelled the use of new power conversion topology and control for improved performance.
The objective of this project is to identify and develop power electronic converters for MEA
system for improved power density and efficiency.

Energy efficient and Smart lighting
In recent years, it became more apparent that light-emitting diodes (LED) is the
technology of choice to achieve those savings. LEDs presently have an average source-lumen
efficacy of 120-150 lm/W. One key reason for the lacking penetration of the market with LED
technology for lighting applications is its higher upfront cost. Sophisticated current
controlling drivers are required to operate LEDs for lighting. Commercial drivers presently
available are costly, complex, relatively bulky and typically account for 50% of the total cost of
a commercial LED lamp. A substantial reduction in cost while maintaining the high efficiency
of LED drivers is possible by reducing the number of stages and components, providing the
same functionality of the driver. Hence, we propose a driver solution containing only one
single stage high frequency DC-DC converter with single controller for providing isolation and
a controlled equal amount of current to N strings of LEDs at the output irrespective of any
fault condition in one or more LED strings.

This project also demonstrates the potential energy savings by using an interactive
lighting interface using a Zig-Bee based Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) while performing
the monitoring and control of the lighting system. Existing lighting systems is clock-oriented
and offers limited control and monitoring capabilities. The developed system automatically
adjusts the illumination level of individual lamps in accordance to ambient lighting conditions
and occupancy pattern of the surrounding and is adaptable to regions (or) different timezones by itself. The inter-lamp communication over the master-slave network facilitates a
pleasing and effective lighting ambience. Remote monitoring helps in condition monitoring
and online energy consumption data logging while remote control enables easy user
interruption. The development of such a system will result in lower operational cost, have
higher energy savings and provides a faster return-on-investment of the system. In this paper,
a prototype of the system is developed and demonstrated.

Solar Photovoltaic Microinverter

Photovoltaic AC (PVAC) module technology is a modular approach to scale up or
down the size of solar power system. PVAC module is described as: A complete,
environmentally protected unit consisting of solar cells, optics, inverter, and other
components, designed to generate AC power when exposed to sunlight. The key element of a
PVAC module is the Micro-inverter. It has an ability to provide maximum power
independent of the faulty or shaded panels which is a significant benefit over string or central
inverters. However, to capture the utmost advantages of PVAC modules, the scope of this
project lies on improving the key features which include:

A high level of reliability to operate for the lifetime of a PV module (25 years).

A wide operation range that is required to support a variety of PV modules.

High efficiency for effective ROI (return-on-investment).

An effective means of ripple mitigation, novel magnetics design, highly efficient power
conversion and control methodology is being developed to realise the said features.

Research Projects Information

Project Title : Development of Energy Efficient Propulsion System for Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles Pure Drive
Total fund
: SGD 816,000
Funded by
: DSTA
Duration
: 26.02.2013 - 25.02.2015
Project Title : Renewable energy based high performance power electronic
converters for green data centers - Funded by A*Star
Total fund
: SGD 756,492
Funded by
: A*Star
Duration
: 01.08.2011 31.05.2015
Project Title
Total fund
Funded by
Duration

:
:
:
:

Project Title
Total fund
Funded by
Duration

:
:
:
:

Underwater Vehicle Technology - Star Fish II

SGD 475,200
MINDEF - DSTA
25.10.10 30.06.2015
Condition monitoring and prognostics of electrical equipment
SGD 150,000
SMI, Rolls Royce
17.09.2013 16.09.2016

Project Title
: Intelligent Information Management System in Smart Buildings
Using Multi-Agent-Enabled Wireless Sensor-Actuator Network
Total fund
: SGD 786,334
Funded by
: NRF, SINBER BEST, University of California, Berkely, USA
Duration
: 10.01.2012 - 31.04.2017
Project Title : Intelligent Power Management System for Electric Propulsion
based Marine Vessels for improving Reliability, Operational cost, Performance and
Efficiency (ROPE) operating under different operating conditions
Total fund
: SGD 805,600
Funded by
: SMI, ST Marine
Duration
: 01.08.2014 31.07.2017
Project Title : Analysis of High Voltage AC/DC Power Transmission and
Penetration of Renewables for Subsea Power System Distribution Network
Total fund
: SGD 464,000
Funded by
: SMI, Schlumberger
Duration
: 02.05.2014 01.05.2017
Project Title
Total fund
Funded by
Duration

:
:
:
:

Integrated Chemical and Electrical System Operation - ICESO

SGD 895,955
CAMBRIDGE-CARES-NRF-CREATE
01.04.2014 22.04.2018

Project Title : Solar Energy Harvesting and Active Energy Management System
for Nano-Satellites
Total fund
: SGD 173,400
Funded by
: M.O.E - NUS
Duration
: 01.03.2013 28.02.2016

Dr.SanjibKumarPanda
AssociateProfessor
Renewable
Energy
Harvesting,
Smart Grid,
Subsea Power
Distribution

Intelligent
Control,
Reliability,
Energy
Management
&
Optimization
ElectricalMachines
andDrivesLaboratory

Green Data
Centers, Nano
Satellites,
WSNSmart
Buildings
Condition
monitoring &
Prognostics,
Marine Vessels
Propulsion

EMDL
Areas of
Research
Unmanned
Aerial
Vehicles,
Biomimetic
StarFish
High Efficient
Power
Electronic
Converters &
Controllers

DepartmentofElectrical
andComputerEngineering

1. Condition Monitoring of Transformers

Transformer failure modes

Thermography of Dry type transformer with load imbalance

OnlineCMtechniquesarenecessarytoenableoperational
reliability
Improvementsinconditionmonitoringtechniquesfor
transformersinclude
Currentharmonicsanalysis
Spectralanalysisoflinecurrentsofprimaryandsecondaryof
thetransformer
Fluxdistributionanalysis
Comparisonoffluxdistributionofthesensorplacedat
differentlocationonthesurfaceofthetransformer
Thermalimageanalysis
AnalysisonthethermalimageobtainedbyIRthermography

2. Condition Monitoring of Induction Machines

Wireless module

Other
12%

Dataacquistion

Yes
Signal
preprocessing

Rotor
10%

Bearings
41%

If
transient?

No
Faultidentification
anddiagnosis

Stator/Rotorfault
detection

Windings
37%

IM failure modes

No

If
Fault?

Faultnotification

Yes

Frame work of proposed algorithm

Wireless condition monitoring of

induction machine using Zigbee protocol
has been done
Frequency signatures are transmitted
instead of actual raw signal
Developed a GUI for local and remote
monitoring of machines health

Current Signature Analysis is able to find

incipient faults
Frequency domain analysis of motor current
signature analysis (MCSA) was done to identify
Stator winding faults
Broken rotor bar
Airgap eccentricity
Bearing faults
Voltage unbalance faults

An online Fault Detection and Diagnosis system

(FDD) using dSPACE1104 has been done and
validated.
Frame work of wireless CM of IM

3. Marine Electrical Power System Architectures

Evaluationofmarinevesselgridarchitectures(LV/MVAC/DC)havingIntegratedPower
System
DesignofPerformanceMetricsbasedon Reliability,Efficiency,Gasemission,Weight,
VolumeandCost;andidentificationofOperationProfileoftargetvesselwithDPClassII
Architectureassessmentbasedonnotionalmodelusingthevesseloperationprofileand
performancemetrics
Identifysuperiorarchitectureanddevelopadvancecontroltechniqueandmultiobjective
optimizationalgorithm forimprovedperformanceoftargetvessel

4. Analysis of High Voltage AC/DC Power Transmission together with Penetration of

Renewables, Condition Monitoring & Fault Identification and Location in Subsea
Power System Distribution Network
FaultdetectionandFaultLocalizationinCables

LongACumbilicalpowercable

ConditionMonitoringandPredictiveMaintenance

HighVoltageDCandACTransmissionStudies
HVAC,HVDC&ModularStackedDC
(MSDC)

VariablePowerExtractionfromRenewables&
HarmonicAnalysisforVariableSpeedDrives

Image Courtesy: http://www.nexans.de/

PowerDistributionCenteratseabed

Modern subsea power technologies require in excess of

100 MWs of electrical power, extensive condition
monitoring and clean power supply for reliability and
longevity.
Analyticalstudyofsubseapowerumbilicalchordscan
givequantitativeidearegardingthechoiceofHVAC,
HVDCandstackedmodularDC(MSDC)systems
Rigorousconditionmonitoringandrealtimedata
analyticscankeepthesubseapowersystemalertand
fastactingtowardschanges,improvingrobustness
Harmonicpowerforvariablespeeddrivescanbelocally
suppliedratherthandrawingfromonshore
AnalyticalcomparisonofHVDCandHVACapproachesforsubseatransmissionand fault
identificationinlongtransmissionlines
AnalysisofharmonicsandreactivepowercompensationsrequiredIntegrationofoffshorerenewable
energysourceintothepowergrid
Developmentofintelligentalgorithmsforconditionmonitoringandfaultlocationidentificationfor
cablesatthedistributionside
Incorporationoftheproposedensembleoftechnologiesdoesnotrequiremajorchanges
inthecurrentinfrastructureofsubseapowersystems

5. Hybrid Propulsion System For Unmanned Aerial VehicleUAV

SelectionofICEngine,battery,motorand
generatorforaerospaceuse,underthe
considerationofpowerdensityandsystem
specifications

IC
Engine
(0~20%)

DesignofACDCRectifierwithhighefficiency
(92%)
DesignofDCDCBidirectionalConverter
withhighefficiency(88%)
Sensorless ControlofPermanentMagnet
SynchronousMotor(PMSM)byestimating
therotorpositionandrotorspeedusing
feedbackobserver &SystemIntegration

Proposed
Hybrid
Propulsion
System

Gear Box
(
)
(95%)

Conventional
ICE Based
Propulsion
System

IC
Engine

Battery

Sensorless
Control

Generator
Bidirectional
DC-DC
Converter

AC/DC
Rectifier

DualActiveBridge
DC/AC
Converter

Sensorless
Control

Motor
7

Propeller

6. MATRIX Converter for More Electric Aircrafts (MEA)

RA1

RA2

RB1

RB2

RA3
D1

Va
Vb
Vc

RB3

Ll

La
Lb

Ip
Vxy

Lc

Ca

Cc RC1

RC2

RD1

RD2

RC3

C0

Vsec

SG1

R0

N:1
D2

Cb

SmallerTransformer
HighswitchingFrequency

D3

D4

RD3

SG2

ControllablePowerfactor
ControllableActivedevices

SG
(Auxilliary)

Reducedcommonmodefilter
Design
Transformerisolation

AC BUS: 230 V, 360-800 Hz

Isolated Bidirectional
AC-DC

Battery DC BUS (270 V)

AC/AC
converter

AC BUS: 3X115 V,
400 Hz

AC Loads

Isolated
Bidirectional
AC-DC

HVDC load

LowerTHDforwiderrangeof
input/load
Activedevicesswitchedathigh
frequency

Isolated Bidirectional
AC-DC

28 VDC

DC load

Reliabilityissuesofpower
converterscanbeimprovedby
providingredundancyand
improvesswitchingmodulation
andcontrolscheme

7. Integration of Renewable Energy Sources

1.SinglephaseParallelconnectedinverter
Activepowerflowcontrolfromthe
renewableenergysourcesalongwith
controllingtheTHDofthecurrentdrawn
formthecommonACbusinthemicrogrid
2.SinglephaseSeriesconnectedinverter
Activepowerflowfromtherenewable
energysourcealongwithregulatingthe
loadvoltageinthepresenceofgridvoltage
disturbances
3.Threephaseparallelconnectedinverter
The proposed system can take care of the
generalized
grid
voltage
conditions:
Unbalanced grid and harmonic contaminated
conditions
Traditional sixswitch based topology (b6)
or optimized switch count based fourswitch
based topology (b4).
Highbandwidthactive andreactivepower
flowcontrol,THDcontrolofcurrentdrawn
fromcommonACbus,Loadvoltageregulation

8. Development of Smart Grid

Testbed

Developmentofplugandplaytype
AutonomousSmartmicrogridsystem
Highperformancecontrolapplicationforcurrent
andvoltagequalitycontrol
Suddenchangeisloadingconditionwhile
maintainingthebusstability
Arbitraryintegrationofrenewableenergy
sources,Dieselgeneratorsandothergeneration
systemswithbusvoltagestabilizationcapability
Automaticchangeovertoenergystorage
elementsincaseofexcessactivepower.

Powerlinecommunicationbetweenmultiplegenerators
tomaintainstability
DevelopmentofEnergyManagementSystemforoptimal
scheduling&dispatch
SystemintegrationwithPLCSCADAforcontrol&
monitoring
10

9. Renewable Energy Based High Performance

Power Electronic Converters for Green Data Centers
Research Focus
Phase1

Phase2

ACPoweredDataCenter

DCPoweredDataCenter

3PhaseFourLegInverter

9SwitchConverter

3newControlStrategiesaredesignedtoeliminate
theNeutralCurrentunderunbalancedloads:
Reductioninheatgenerationduetoelectrical
losses lesscoolingrequirements.

Anoveltopologyisproposedtoreducethenumber
ofpowerconversionstagesandnumberofactive
switches:Reducedoutputvoltageandcurrent
ripple,Lesserfilteringrequirements.

10. Bioinspired Underwater Robotic Vehicle and Next generation UUV's

1. Thenewpropulsionsystemhasbeenshowntobetimeeffective,fuel
efficient,moreagileandlessnoisywhileboastingstealthfeatures.
2. Developedanomnidirectionalunderwaterrobotprototype whichis
designedtoharvestwaveenergy.
3. ExperimentswithdifferentsoftactuatorslikeElectroactive polymers
(EAP),Ionicpolymermetalcomposites(IPMC)andShapeMemoryAlloy
(SMA)toinvestigatemusclelikeactuationfortheroboticfishpropulsion

TurtleRobot
TurtleBotandworkingprototype

BAUV3designandworkingprototype

Spherical Robot

Developed5unmannedunderwatervehicleprototypesbasedonbiologyprinciples