“Physics-Enhanced Topology Optimization for the Design of Electric Machines”
Wednesday, April 12 at 3:00pm
NEB 409

Abstract

Topology optimization has been receiving increasing attention in the past decade for the design of electric machines. Instead of relying on machine designers to come up with intuitive topologies, topology optimization evolves the topology by following the gradient descent direction of the objective function step by step. It may be used to optimize torque production by including the average torque in the objective function. In this talk, Dr. Ge will introduce a new approach to formulating the optimization problem, aiming to simplify the convoluted relationship between the objective function and the design variables. Instead of optimizing the whole design domain at the same time, a piecewise strategy resorting to lumped parameters, such as that appearing in equivalent circuit models, is proposed. The physical connections between lumped elements and the design domain are leveraged to enable the methodology proposed herein. Results using an ideal setup and a synchronous reluctance machine are shown and demonstrated its effectiveness. Dr. Ge will also introduce a unified circuit view of multiphysics finite element analysis. It is based on the isomorphism between the topological structures established by circuit theory and discrete calculus. This view will allow the extension of the above new topology optimization formulation beyond electromagnetics.

Biography

Dr. Baoyun Ge is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Florida. He received a B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from Southeast University, Nanjing, China, in 2012, and a Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2018. For his Ph.D., he focused his research on the mathematical modeling and manufacturing of electrostatic machines. Dr. Ge received the First Place Paper Award and the Third Place Thesis Award from the IEEE Industry Application Society (IAS) in 2017 and 2019, respectively. His work was also recognized by the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at UW-Madison with the Harold A. Peterson Distinguished Dissertation Award. Dr. Ge served as a guest associate editor for the IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, and invited topic chair in IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition in 2020. He joined the University of Florida in 2022 and is working on design methodologies and control frameworks to promote the sustainability of electrical energy conversion systems while society is relying on them to combat climate change.