With support from two research grants, totaling $774,000, Robert Cuzner, a UWM professor of electrical engineering, is advancing two arms of research that will help electrify transportation and modernize the national electrical grid.
Data-driven modeling for EVs
Building complex power/energy delivery networks is time intensive. To speed the process, Cuzner, an expert in power conversion and distribution, is developing novel modeling techniques.
Backed by a $274,000 grant from Eaton Corp., Cuzner is participating in a U.S. Department of Defense initiative to create machine learning-based design tools for power electronics-based systems.
Power electronics are devices that regulate and control the flow and conversion of electrical power. They are fundamental to energy delivery.
Ultimately, Eaton Corp., with UWM and the University of Arkansas, aim to develop design tools in open-source software to so that more people can use them. The initial design application is electromagnetically compatible motor drives for electric vehicles.
Breaking down microgrids
Cuzner also has a two-year, $500,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research to develop a “building-block” approach to design and integration of microgrids on U.S. military installations.
Microgrids hold the potential to modernize the aging electrical grid and incorporate sustainable energy sources, like solar. They are power sources for a limited area, such as a military base, that can be connected to the main grid or operated disconnected. But the components of microgrids that operate over large service areas need to communicate better.
A microgrid can be built into smaller “building blocks” – or nanogrids – that can be installed as need arises and ultimately networked together as the full microgrid installation develops.
Cuzner’s lab is developing field-deployable artificial intelligence that will allow these nanogrids to work together autonomously or to operate independently of each other to ensure that energy is delivered where and when it is needed, even under damage scenarios.
This improves the microgrid’s ability to recover quickly to minimize power outages.
This project is in collaboration with Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif., and the Naval Facilities Engineering Expeditionary Warfare Center in Port Hueneme, Calif.