Research Area · Department of Electrical Engineering · IIT Bombay
Power Electronics & Power Systems
An important aspect of the group's program is the integration of power electronics with the study of power systems. The group is actively providing research and development support for the national electric power infrastructure.
Associated Research Labs
Power Electronics Design Center (PEDC)
The Power Electronics Design Center (PEDC) conducts research on power electronics-based converters for motor drive applications and renewable integration to grid. Research includes the novel concept of a transformer-less grid-feeding current source inverter with reduced leakage current, conceptualization of a power electronics and drives experimental bench featuring more than 14 different circuit topologies, research on reducing capacitor ripple voltage and current in modular multilevel converters for variable speed drives, and breaker circuit development in a microgrid system for protecting power supply.
National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education (NCPRE)
The National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education (NCPRE) conducts research related to integration of solar PV systems, micro-grids and optimal utilization of solar PV. Achievements include a high-performance 2.5 KVA SiC MOSFET grid-tied inverter, a low-cost reliable 250 VA battery-integrated stand-alone PV system for rural areas, module-integrated DC-DC converters for PV source integration with DC micro-grids, and a novel distributed controller for equal load sharing in DC micro-grids.
Field Computation Laboratory
This computational laboratory focuses on two broad research areas. First, Electromagnetic and Coupled Field Computations: advanced 2D and 3D Finite Element Method (FEM) based numerical analysis for complex systems with electromagnetic fields coupled to circuits, structures, and thermal systems. Second, Power Systems: concurrent and visionary works related to generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy, including distributed generation, microgrids, renewable energy, transmission expansion planning, ancillary service management, power system stability, smart grid technologies, and distribution automation.
Insulation Diagnostics Laboratory
The Insulation Diagnostics Laboratory was established in 2006–2007 in the Electrical Engineering Department of IIT Bombay, intended for academic and research purposes. It features a 100 kV AC/140 kV DC test setup with Partial Discharge Measurement facility. Academic activities include giving exposure to undergraduate and postgraduate students to various high voltage engineering aspects. Study of corona inception voltage for various electrode arrangements and demonstration of frequencies radiated by corona are among the experiments conducted. A transformer tank-like structure with a provision for changing electrode arrangements has been fabricated for experimentation.
Electrical Machines Lab
The Electrical Machines Lab conducts research on finite element-based design of modern electrical machines for various applications and conducts undergraduate and postgraduate laboratory courses with practical demonstrations. Notable research includes a novel ferrite-based permanent magnet motor for an electric-assist campus bicycle, ultra-high efficiency SRM-based ceiling fan, a high-speed 50,000 rpm PCB coreless stator axial flux motor for centrifuge applications, a low-cost high-speed ferrite permanent magnet brushless DC motor for rural PV water pump applications, a permanent magnet brushless DC motor with sensorless control for mixer-grinder applications, and a brushed permanent magnet DC motor for open-well PV water pump applications.
Power Systems Laboratory
The Power Systems Laboratory features a fully functional scaled-down model of a 2 Area 4 machine system. It is used for demonstration of power system dynamic phenomena including frequency dynamics, voltage dynamics, and effects of controllers like AVR. It also demonstrates FACTS and HVDC converters (variable impedance, voltage source, and line-commutated converters) with digital control. The lab operates a Wide Area Synchronized Frequency Measurement System using Network Time Protocol, displaying near real-time power system frequency of different locations in India at www.ee.iitb.ac.in/~anil.
PowerAnser Labs
PowerAnser Labs was set up in April 2007 in collaboration with TCS. Earlier known as Power System Computation Lab, the association aims at leveraging research outputs to full-fledged software products, primarily in the form of web services for power utilities. Research generally involves large-scale computation and optimization.
Applied Power Electronics Laboratory
The Applied Power Electronics Laboratory covers four major research thrusts. Non-Conventional Energy: modelling PV, fuel cell, and wind energy sources; power converter topologies for stand-alone and grid-connected systems; Maximum Power Point Tracking; microgrid power quality; and power factor correction. Power Conversion and Electric Drives: new converter topologies; high-frequency link power conversion; ZVS/ZCS configurations; advanced control schemes (Hybrid, QFT, Sliding Mode); switched capacitor DC-DC converters; and sensorless electric drive control. Electronic Systems: GPS-INS integration for navigation; intelligent transportation systems; biomedical systems; and radiation effects on electronic components. EMI/EMC: analysis, measurement and mitigation of EMI; system design optimization for reduced EMI; and development of measurement tools (E-field and H-field probes).
PC Lab
PC Lab provides general computing facilities to students of Electrical Engineering and Reliability Engineering. Both Windows and Linux machines are present in the lab. A load-balanced server (Rudra) is available for heavier computational use, with software packages like MATLAB, Lyx, Scilab, Spice, Ansys, Sequel, Grace, LaTeX, MySQL, and other standard Linux/Unix packages. PC Lab also provides a central mail service with 500MB storage to all students and faculty of the department. A team of System Administrators provides tech-end support and maintains all network infrastructure in the department.