An Innovative Powertrain Architecture and Optimal Energy Management for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technologies will significantly reduce the dependence of vehicles on fossil fuels, thereby reducing their emissions of carbon and other pollutants. The project will produce new knowledge in automotive engineering, software tools for vehicle design and a novel powertrain architecture with key components almost ready for commercial application. The research will ....An Innovative Powertrain Architecture and Optimal Energy Management for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technologies will significantly reduce the dependence of vehicles on fossil fuels, thereby reducing their emissions of carbon and other pollutants. The project will produce new knowledge in automotive engineering, software tools for vehicle design and a novel powertrain architecture with key components almost ready for commercial application. The research will directly contribute to the use of green energy and the reduction of vehicles' harmful environmental impacts. The nation will benefit from new economic activity, such as increased exports of automotive parts and components, and from strengthening its position as a world leader in reducing carbon emissions.Read moreRead less
Wide Speed Range, Inverterless, Constant Current Mode Alternator. Increasing auxiliary electric power demands in cars due to proposed new features such as electromechanical valves and active suspension has created a pressing need for a higher power car alternator. There has also been a continuing need for improved alternators for small-scale renewable energy generation such as wind turbines. These applications require the lowest possible cost solution which meets the challenging technical spec ....Wide Speed Range, Inverterless, Constant Current Mode Alternator. Increasing auxiliary electric power demands in cars due to proposed new features such as electromechanical valves and active suspension has created a pressing need for a higher power car alternator. There has also been a continuing need for improved alternators for small-scale renewable energy generation such as wind turbines. These applications require the lowest possible cost solution which meets the challenging technical specifications. Present research in this area is focussed on expensive inverter-based methods. We propose a low-cost, "inverterless" alternator configuration based on a specially-designed interior permanent magnet machine operating in a new current source mode.Read moreRead less
Advanced Future Automotive Electrical Machines based on Amorphous Iron. Electric machines consume about 70% of all electrical energy generated. Electric machines constructed from a promising magnetic material called amorphous iron can be much more efficient than conventional designs, hence saving energy. Amorphous iron is normally difficult to cut accurately into the shapes required in electric machines. We propose to design and construct high-efficiency permanent magnet machines based on amorp ....Advanced Future Automotive Electrical Machines based on Amorphous Iron. Electric machines consume about 70% of all electrical energy generated. Electric machines constructed from a promising magnetic material called amorphous iron can be much more efficient than conventional designs, hence saving energy. Amorphous iron is normally difficult to cut accurately into the shapes required in electric machines. We propose to design and construct high-efficiency permanent magnet machines based on amorphous iron for automotive applications, which will be cut using an innovative Australian waterjet cutting technique. The key challenges are to optimise the machine design for commercial production given the capabilities and limitations of the material and the new cutting process.Read moreRead less
An Integrated Starter Alternator for Automobiles using a New Wide Speed Range Interior Permanent Magnet Motor and a Matrix Z-Source Converter. The projected growth of power demand and efficiency of future automobiles calls for a suitable integrated starter-alternator (ISA) to be developed. While interim solutions have been offered, a true ISA is still considered to be more than five years away. Considering the huge worldwide market, an ISA developed in Australia is expected to benefit the large ....An Integrated Starter Alternator for Automobiles using a New Wide Speed Range Interior Permanent Magnet Motor and a Matrix Z-Source Converter. The projected growth of power demand and efficiency of future automobiles calls for a suitable integrated starter-alternator (ISA) to be developed. While interim solutions have been offered, a true ISA is still considered to be more than five years away. Considering the huge worldwide market, an ISA developed in Australia is expected to benefit the large Australian automobile industry significantly. The CIs has strong links with local developers and suppliers of power semiconductors and motors, who have participated in the recent developments already carried out. A proven ISA developed locally should be a boon for these industries.Read moreRead less