Computational Electric Machine Laboratory

For decades, electrical machines have played a central role in energy conversion, not only as generators for producing electrical energy, but also as motor s, e.g. for electric vehicles. They are estimated to account for more than half of the total electric energy consumption. Modern power electronics have brought about numerous new operating and application possibilities for such motors, and together with new materials and manufacturing techniques, as well as advances in design optimization and control technology, they hold enormous potential for achieving climate targets. Current design methods for electrical machines are based on a limited number of par ameters and operating modes, typically at constant speed or constant torque. Optimization potential thus falls by the wayside. The consortium now wants to make use of this potential and achieve a paradigm shift with the research work towards new integrat ed simulation and design approaches. The new approaches take into account all the important aspects of an electrical machine from the outset, such as shape and topology, time -dependent operating cycles, complex material behaviour, parameter uncertainties, robustness and noise development, as well as new cooling techniques for pushing thermal limits. Modelling, simulating and optimizing such a complex system poses extreme challenges for computational engineering (CE). CE is an interdisciplinary scientific discipline with links to applied mathematics, computer science and engineering sciences, and has established itself as the third pillar of gaining knowledge in engineering alongside theory and experiment. This coordinated programme is the first joint German-Austrian research association in the funding line of Collaborative Research Centres (DFG) / Special Research Centres (FWF). The consortium consists of scientists from the two strategic partner universities TU Darmstadt and TU Graz, as well as the Johannes Kepler University Linz.