PhD Studentship - Arc Fault Analysis in Modern Aerospace Power Drive Systems

Application deadline: All year round

How to apply: uom.link/pgr-apply-2425

This 4-year project is fully funded; students who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the Home rate are eligible to apply.

The successful candidate will receive an annual stipend of ~£25,518 and paid tuition fees.

We are looking for someone to start as soon as possible.

The project is an exciting opportunity to undertake industrially linked research in partnership with Rolls-Royce (RR) at the RR University Technology Centre (UTC) in Electrical Systems at University of Manchester(UoM). The UTC researches a wide range of underpinning electrical technologies for applications of on-board power systems for aircraft. The UoM's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has ~95 academic staff, split across a number of research groups, is one of the largest UK departments of this type, and particularly strong in power engineering.

The aviation sector is undergoing a transformation as it moves towards more environmentally sustainable flight. This involves significant electrification where on-board electrical systems are increasingly critical to aircraft operation. Arc faults in aviation electrical systems remain a major reliability and safety concern: they can generate significant heat and damage, critically compromising system redundancy and operative ability. This PhD combines industrial and academic expertise to develop next-generation understanding of propagation, detection and containment of the destructive nature of arc fault events in the context of modern aerospace power drive systems. The key objective is to characterise the nature of arc initiation & propagation and how arcing can be managed through system design or operation, with a view to retaining functionality when these occur and minimising their likelihood. This is also researched by the recently commenced multi-million MOSFET (The Maturing Optimised Solutions for Aerospace Technology) research programme lead by RR in collaboration with UoM and an electrical systems specialist company (Aerospace HV), and this PhD will be actively supporting and running along side this project. This PhD offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the future of sustainable flight collaborating with leading aerospace companies.

Work will include the development of a laboratory test system able of emulating arc faults, fault inception and propagation operating environments in an aerospace power drive representative system architecture. This will enable experimental research on charaterising the underlying causes of fault inception, identifying critical contributors and operating margins/management procedures associated with these.

Based in the UoM RR UTC at the Energy Conversion Group, you will be responsible for undertaking the relevant research under the guidance of Dr Djurovic and his colleagues and in collaboration with relevant Rolls-Royce and Aerospace HV staff.

We are interested in students with a strong understanding of power drives, high-voltage engineering, electrical arcs and insulation systems. A strong interest in electrical transportation systems for aerospace is also desirable. Additional knowledge in power drive/insulation system laboratory testing is welcome but not a requirement.

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s in a relevant science/engineering related discipline. A background in electrical drives/HV is highly desirable.

To apply, please contact the main supervisor, Dr. Djurovic - sinisa.durovic@manchester.ac.uk. Include details of your current level of study, academic background, any relevant experience and a paragraph about your motivation for this PhD project.