Connor de Trafford
Theme
Propulsion ElectrificationProject
Design of high-performance electric motors for transport electrificationSupervisor(s)
Dr Xiaoze Pei, Dr Vincent ZengBio
Connor is a PhD student focusing on high performance electric motors. He graduated from the University of Bath with a Masters in Integrated Design Engineering. During his final year project, he strove to combine his mechanical, electrical and human centred design experience by designing a haptic feedback gear shifter for a driving simulator which incorporated a hybrid linear reluctance motor. He came away with an admiration for electric machine design, which led him to join SEM ltd, a company in the electric motor and machine tool industry. 2 Years later, he has returned to the University of Bath driven by a desire to grow his knowledge of electric machine design and contribute to the battle against climate change by reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
Fun Facts
- I am left-handed
- I love video games and I learnt to make them as a hobby
- I have seen the Northern Lights
- I have a metal casting furnace which I use to sand cast bits for projects
Design of high-performance electric motors for transport electrification
Climate change as a result of human activities has driven the need to reduce carbon emissions in all aspects of our lives. In 2018 commercial flight equalled 2.8% of total carbon emissions. Whilst the immediate objective should be to mitigate flying and improve alternative transportation options, a long term objective should be to decarbonise flight. The most enticing technology to accomplish this may be electric aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel cells due to their high energy density compared with batteries. However, to a greater degree than cars or trains, aircraft are extremely limited by their mass, as a result, conventional electric motors may not be viable to drive large aircraft due to their relatively poor power density compared with jet propulsion. Instead, superconducting electric motors become necessary for their high power density, but these require heavy and energy intensive cooling systems.
In a holistic view of an electric aircraft system, efficiency and power density must be improved across all areas to reduce the total weight and cooling power.
This PhD project is focused on the design of a high speed motor and it's place in this system. High speed motors are essential components in driving airflow into the fuel cell and circulating cooling fluid. By improving their efficiency and power whilst operating in these unique conditions, the overall system efficiency can be improved.