Work environment

The topic involves the development and improvement of electrical insulation systems and materials, as well as corresponding lifetime modeling. These materials are intended for use in electric drive systems in battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The challenge is to ensure the insulation capability of the insulation system, especially under high voltage rise gradients and elevated operating temperatures in the electrical components "electric machine" and "power electronics" for controlling the machine. The topic not only includes the specific application but also the determination of the failure mechanisms of the materials in use and the physical-based modeling of the degradation of the material and the system. Based on this, service lifetimes are to be estimated, which can be used and calibrated for determining the product lifetime over mission profiles. Furthermore, in addition to the materials, the property descriptions, qualification, and testing and analysis techniques are to be researched and developed. Help shape the future of electric mobility – apply now and bring your scientific curiosity into a hands-on research environment!

Possible Tasks within this Role

• Conducting a doctoral research project on the topic: "Lifetime Modeling of Insulation Materials"
• Designing, simulating, creating the design and layout of test samples for the materials
• Creating a lifetime model based on physical damage mechanisms
• Building laboratory samples as well as measuring and calibrating the models
• Conducting, evaluating, and communicating material simulations

The final doctoral topic is defined together with the professor. The prerequisite for the cooperation is the confirmation of supervision as well as a confirmed delimitation of topics by the professor of a university or research institution entitled to confer a doctorate.

Qualification requirements

• Good to very good university degree qualifying for doctoral studies in physics, electrical engineering, or chemistry
• Solid knowledge in the field of power electronics, electric machines, high-voltage (HV) batteries, and other components of electrical engineering
• Practical experience in the areas of simulation techniques, including finite element method (FEM) simulations, as well as in assembly and interconnection technologies, metallurgy, and module design
• Proficiency in characterizing electrical components, including measurement technologies and analytical techniques for insulation materials, partial discharge analysis, and insulation testing

Keywords

electric drives, partial discharge resistance, partial discharge inception voltage, dielectric strength, mission profile, collectivization, high dU/dt slope, high temperature resistance, Coffin-Manson model, Arrhenius model