PhD Position Protection of Future Power System Components (PRoteuS)

In the framework of the on-going NWO-TTW “Protection of Future Power System Components (PRoteuS)” project, the second PhD is supposed to be assigned. The PhD position deals with the investigation of the interaction between cables, transformers and system grounding which under specific circumstances may lead to severe resonances and mysterious failures of the some components. Therefore, a complete analysis of the system behaviour consisting of switchgears, cables/lines, transformers and the grounding system is needed in broad frequency range. The results should be used to develop a new protection principles to avoid severe resonance system effects by taking into account grounding aspects at high frequencies. 

This is a four-year doctoral appointment, with an anticipated start date of June the1st 2022. You will be jointly supervised by Dr. Dipl.-Ing. Marjan Popov (associate professor) and Dr. Aleksandra Lekic (assistant professor). You will be a member of the section Intelligent Electrical Power Grids in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science. The project will offer opportunities to collaborate with industrial partners, but also with academics from other disciplines, as required (mathematics, operations research). Within the team, we strive to develop methods that are mathematically rigorous and have near-term application potential. We are strong supporters of open science (publishing, source code, data). 

About the department

The research in the Department of Electrical Sustainable Energy is inspired by the technical, scientific, and societal challenges originating from the transition towards a more sustainable society and focuses on three areas:

• DC Systems, Energy Conversion and Storage (DCE&S)
• Photovoltaic Materials and Devices (PVMD)
• Intelligent Electrical Power Grids (IEPG)

The Electrical Sustainable Energy Department provides expertise in each of these areas throughout the entire energy system chain. The department owns a large ESP laboratory assembling High Voltage testing, DC Grids testing environment, and large RTDS that is actively used for real-time simulation of future electrical power systems, AC and DC protection, and wide-area monitoring and protection.

The Intelligent Electrical Power Grid (IEPG) group, headed by Professor Peter Palensky, works on the future of our power system. The goal is to generate, transmit and use electrical energy in a highly reliable, efficient, stable, clean, affordable, and safe way. IEPG integrates new power technologies and smart controls, which interact with other systems and allow for more distributed and variable generation.