SPARK Laboratory

Events

ECCE 2021, Oct 10 - Oct 14, Vancouver, CA

Professor Dan M. Ionel, Ph.D., FIEEE together with other PEIK and UK faculty, former postdoc Dr. Peng Han, recent PhD graduate, Dr. Damien Lawhorn, and PhD students: Yasser Chulaee, Huangjie Gong, Evan S. Jones, Murat Kesgin, Donovin Lewis, and Yibin Zhang contributed with the following papers to the online IEEE ECCE 2020 Congress and the IAS Annual Meeting:

  • Han, P., Kesgin, M. G., Ionel, D. M., Gosalia, R., Shah, N., Flynn, J. F., Goli, C. S., Essakiappan, S., and Manjrekar, M. “Design Optimization of a Very High Power Density Motor with a Reluctance Rotor and a Modular Stator Having PMs and Toroidal Windings,” Proceedings, IEEE ECCE 2021, Vancouver, Canada, 7p (Oct 2021) 
  • Gong, H., Jones, E. S., Jakaria, A H M., Huque, A., Renjit, A., and Ionel, D. M., “Generalized Energy Storage Model-In-the-Loop Suitable for Energy Star and CTA-2045 Control Types,” Proceedings, IEEE ECCE 2021, Vancouver, Canada, 5p (Oct 2021) 
  • Han, P., Lawhorn, D., Chulaee, Y., Lewis, D., Heins, G., and Ionel, D. M., “Design Optimization and Experimental Study of Coreless Axial-flux PM Machine with Wave Winding PCB Stator,” Proceedings, IEEE ECCE 2021, Vancouver, Canada, 6p (Oct 2021)
  • Han, P., Zhang, Y., Kesgin, M. G., Heins, G., Patterson, D., Thiele, M., and Ionel, D.M., “On the Modeling of Bearing Voltage and Current in PWM Converter-fed Electric Machines Using Electromagnetic Finite Element Analysis,” Proceedings, IEEE ECCE 2021, Vancouver, Canada, 5p (Oct 2021)

The papers cover recent government, industry, and utility sponsored research. Authors' versions of the paper manuscripts are available on the Publications page of the SPARK Lab website.

Best Paper Award ICRERA 2021, Sep 26 - Sep 29, Instanbul, TR

The paper “Power Factor and Reactive Power in US Residences - Survey and EnergyPlus Modeling,”, authored by SPARK and PEIK researchers from University of Kentucky (UK), has received a Best Paper Award at the 10th edition of the International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA). The event was held in a hybrid format, in-person in Istanbul, Turkey and online via web conference. Recent annual editions of the conference took place in Glasgow, Scotland; Brasov, Romania; San Diego, California; and Birmingham, England.

The research covered in the paper benefited of support from the Department of Energy through the ENAGE project led by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The paper was authored by Hope Anderson, ECE Undergraduate Research Fellow and NASA REU student; Dr. Abdullah Al Hadi, Postdoctoral Researcher; Evan S. Jones, PhD student and GAANN Fellow; and Dr. Dan M. Ionel, ECE Professor and L. Stanley Pigman Chair in Power. The authors' version manuscript is available on the on the Publications page of the SPARK Lab website.

IEEE PES GM 2021, Jul 26 - Jul 29

SPARK research students, recent graduates, and Professor Dan M. Ionel, Ph.D., FIEEE participated in this year's edition of the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) General Meeting (GM), and presented the following papers and posters:

  • Gong, H., Akeyo, O. M., Rooney, T., Branecky, B., and Ionel, D. M., "Aggregated Generic Load Curve for Residential Electric Water Heaters"
  • Alden, R. E., Ababei, C., and Ionel, D. M., “Artificial Intelligence-based Short-term Electric Load Forecasts for Experimental Smart Homes including HVAC, EWH, and PV Components”
  • Jones, E. S., and Ionel, D. M., “Co-simulation of Electric Power Distributions and Buildings with EnergyPlus and OpenDSS”
  • Bankes, G., Akeyo, O. M., and Ionel, D. M., “Large-Scale Solar PV and Battery Energy Storage Model Study on a Proposed Benchmark Transmission System”
  • Gong, H., Alden, R. E., and Ionel, D. M., “Home Energy Management System for Coordinated PV and HVAC Controls based on AI Forecasting”.

The presentations reported on main technical findings and the very good progress made on research projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Education (DoEd), and directly by industry, A. O. Smith, and utilities, LG&E and KU, and TVA. The presentations were very well received, and Rosemary E. Alden was awarded a prize for her poster.

IEEE ITEC 2021, Jun 21 - Jun 25

SPARK research students, recent graduates, and Professor Dan M. Ionel, Ph.D., FIEEE participated in this year edition of the International Conference on Electrification of Transportation, ITEC 2021, with the following papers and presentations:

  • Lawhorn, D., Han, P., Lewis, D., Chulaee, Y., and Ionel, D. M., “On the Design of Coreless Permanent Magnet Machines for Electric Aircraft Propulsion”
  • Gong, H., and Ionel, D. M., “Combined Use of EV Batteries and PV Systems for Improving Building Resilience to Blackouts”.

The papers cover main technical findings and the very good progress made on research projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Department of Energy (DOE).

IEEE IEMDC 2021, May 17 - May 20

SPARK research students, recent graduates, and Professor Dan M. Ionel, Ph.D., FIEEE participated in this year edition of the International Conference on Electrical Machines and Drives, IEMDC 2021, with the following papers and presentations:

  • Kesgin, M. G., Han, P., Lawhorn, D., and Ionel, D. M., "Analysis of Torque Production in Axial-flux Vernier PM Machines of the MAGNUS Type
  • Zhang, Y., Lawhorn, D. L., Han, P., and Ionel, D. M., “Integrated AC to AC Converters for Single-phase Input to Two-phase Output Motor Drives”
  • Han, P., Heins, G., Zhang, Y., and Ionel, D.M., “Integrated Modular Motor Drives Based on Multiphase Axial-flux PM Machines with Fractional-slot Concentrated Windings”.

The papers cover main technical findings and the very good progress made on research projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and directly by industry. Professor Ionel currently serves as the Chair of the Steering Committee for the IEEE IEMDC series of bi-annual conferences.

Damien Lawhorn Successfully Defends PhD Dissertation, "Electric Power Systems and Components for Electric Aircraft" - Apr 26, 2020

The PhD defense, which was organized online due to the pandemic, provided the unique opportunity to gather in the same virtual room three generations of the SPARK academic family tree and to include the professor’s professors. In the edited photo of the ZOOM online meeting, Damien, now Dr. Lawhorn, is at the very top left on the same row with his advisor Professor Dan M. Ionel, Fellow of IEEE, L. Stanley Pigman Chair in Power.

Second row from the left: Professor Fred Eastham, Fellow of IET and of the Royal Academy of Engineering from the United Kingdom; Professor Ion Boldea, Fellow of IEEE and of the Romanian Academy; Mr. and Mrs. Stan and Karen Pigman, mentors and generous supporters; Mr. Jason Souders, PEIK coordinator; Dr. Vandana Rallabandi, the inaugural Postdoc of the SPARK Lab, now with GE Research.

Third row: Dr. Narges Taran, the inaugural PhD student of the SPARK Lab, now with Borg Warner; Dr. Oluwaseun Akeyo, the inaugural MS student of the SPARK Lab, now graduated with a PhD and with Sargent & Lundy; Huangjie Gong and Murat Kesgin PhD candidates; Evan Jones, PhD student.

Fourth row: Yibin Zhang, PhD candidate; Yaser Chulaee and Gerald Bankes, PhD students; Rosemary Alden and Donovin Lewis, USP for PhD students.    

Damien’s presentation lived up to his reputation established by winning last year the Best PhD Student Presentation Award at the ECE Symposium. Questions and appreciations were received from the general audience, the PhD Committee, and the professor’s professors. Examples of published papers and a short bio are available on other pages of the SPARK Lab website. Additional related details are included in the news featured on the PEIK webpage.

IEEE ECCE 2020 and IAS AM, Oct 22 - Oct 15

Professor Dan M. Ionel, Ph.D., FIEEE together with other PEIK and UK faculty, SPARK Lab postdoctoral researcher Peng Han and students: Oluwaseun Akeyo, Rosemary Alden, Huangjie Gong, Evan S. Jones, Murat Kesgin, Damien Lawhorn, Donovin Lewis, , and Yibin Zhang contributed with the following papers to the online IEEE ECCE 2020 Congress and the IAS Annual Meeting:

  • Gong, H., Jones, E. S., Alden, R. E., Frye, A. G., Colliver, D., and Ionel, D. M., “Demand Response of HVACs in Large Residential Communities Based on Experimental Developments,” Proceedings, IEEE ECCE 2020, Detroit, MI, 4p (Oct 2020)
  • Peng, H., Heins, G., Patterson, D., Thiele, M., and Ionel, D. M., “Evaluation of Bearing Voltage Reduction in Electric Machines by Using Insulated Shaft and Bearings,” Proceedings, IEEE ECCE 2020, Detroit, MI, 6p (Oct. 2020)
  • Kesgin, M. G., Han, P., Taran, N., Lawhorn, D., Lewis, D., and Ionel, D. M., ”Design Optimization of Coreless Axial-flux PM Machines with Litz Wire and PCB Stator Windings,” Proceedings, IEEE ECCE 2020, Detroit, MI, USA, 5p (Oct 2020)
  • Peng, H., Heins, G., Patterson, D., Thiele, M., and Ionel, D. M., “Combined Numerical and Experimental Determination of Ball Bearing Capacitances for Bearing Current Prediction,” Proceedings, IEEE ECCE 2020, Detroit, MI, 5p (Oct. 2020)
  • Kesgin, M. G., Han, P., Taran, N., and Ionel, D. M., ‘‘Optimal Study of a High Specific Torque Vernier-type Axial-flux PM Machine with Two Different Stators and a Single Winding,” Proceedings, IEEE ECCE 2020, Detroit, MI, USA, 4p (Oct 2020)
  • Zhang, Y., Lawhorn, D. L., Han, P., Cramer, A. M., and Ionel, D. M., “Electric Drives with Wide Bandgap Devices for Two-Phase Very Low Inductance Machines,” Proceedings, IEEE ECCE 2020, Detroit, MI, USA, 5p (Oct 2020)
  • Jones, E. S., Akeyo, O. M., Waters, K., and Ionel, D. M., “Electric Power System Studies for a Multi-MW PV Farm and Large Rural Community with Net Zero Energy and Microgrid Capabilities”, Proceedings, IEEE IAS 2020, Detroit, MI, USA, 4p (Oct 2020) 

The papers and their associated recorded presentations cover recent government, industry and utility sponsored research projects from the SPARK Lab.

ICRERA 2020, Sep 27 - Sep 30

SPARK and PEIK researchers from University of Kentucky attended the 9th edition of the International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications, ICRERA. The event was originally planned for Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom and, due to pandemic conditions, was held online on September 27-30, 2020. The ICRERA conferences typically attract large world-wide attendance with hundreds of participants. The program included many parallel sessions on specialized topics.

From UK, USP and PhD students Rosemary E. Alden, Donovin Lewis, and Evan S. Jones, authored and presented papers on timely topics of artificial intelligence applied to smart buildings and energy usage, electrification of transportation with a feasibility study for large cranes, and energy profiles for high efficiency buildings and solar PV distributed generators. The three research projects covered by the papers were sponsored by NSF, NASA, and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), respectively. Paper co-authors from UK included PhD candidates Huangjie Gong and Damien Lawhorn, and faculty: Dr. Don Colliver, F-ASHRAE, BAE Professor, Director of KIAC, and Dr. Dan M. Ionel, FIEEE, ECE Professor and L. Stanley Pigman Chair in Power, Director of SPARK and PEIK. Authors' versions of the manuscripts are available on the Publications page of the SPARK Lab website.

Dr. Dan M. Ionel Received the IEEE Power and Energy Society Cyril G. Veinott Award at the IEEE PES GM 2020, Aug 3 - Aug 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Dan M. Ionel, IEEE Fellow, Director of SPARK and PEIK, ECE Professor and L. Stanley Pigman Chair in Power, received the 2020 Cyril G. Veinott Award from the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES). This year's edition of the PES General Meeting, which was originally scheduled for Montreal, Canada, was held virtually. Attached are Dr. Ionel's video for the online acceptance speech and the relevant sections of the IEEE PES 2020 booklet PDF.

The PES, which has approximately 40,000 members, is one of the largest societies within IEEE. The Cyril G. Veinott Award is the highest IEEE PES distinction for electromechanical energy conversion.

IEEE PES GM 2020, Aug 3 - Aug 6

SPARK and PEIK researchers: Seun Akeyo, Huangjie Gong, Evan Jones, and Rosemary Alden have participated in this year's edition of the 2020 Power and Energy Society General Meeting (PES-GM), which was originally scheduled for Montreal, Canada, and was held online. They presented the following papers and posters:

  • Akeyo, O.M., Patrick, A., and Ionel, D.M., “Study of Large Solar PV Penetration on a Proposed Generation and Transmission Benchmark System”
  • Gong, H., Jones, S.E., and Ionel, D.M., “An Aggregated and Equivalent Home Model for Power System Studies with Examples of Building Insulation and HVAC Control Improvements”
  • Alden, R., Ababei, C., and Ionel, D.M., “Tradeoffs in Forecasting of Residential Electric Loads with Data from Smart Meters and Intelligent Circuit Breakers”.

The presentations reported on research sponsored by the large utilities and by the National Science Foundation (NSF), respectively.

IEEE ITEC 2020, Jun 24 - Jun 26

SPARK Lab researchers and EE PhD candidates, Huangjie Gong and Damien Lawhorn, attended the online IEEE ITEC 2020 conference and presented the papers: 

  • Gong, H., and Ionel, D. M., “Optimization of Aggregated EV Power in Residential Communities with Smart Homes” 
  • Lawhorn, D., Rallabandi, V., and Ionel, D. M., “A Network Graph Technique for the Design of Electric Aircraft Power Systems”.

The research reported was sponsored by DOE and NASA, respectively.

ICRERA 2019, Nov 3 - Nov 6, Brasov, RO

Professor Dan M. Ionel, Ph.D., FIEEE, SPARK and PEIK Director, L. Stanley Pigman Chair in Power, attended the International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications, ICRERA 2019, and delivered the keynote speech “Recent Technology Developments for Utility-Scale and Distributed Battery Energy Storage Systems” pdf>>.

Also, the following SPARK papers have been presented and their PDFs are available from the dedicated section of the SPARK website:

  • Jones, E. S., Gong, H., and Ionel, D. M., “Optimal Combinations of Utility Level Renewable Generators for a Net Zero Energy Microgrid Considering Different Utility Charge Rate”
  • Alden, R. E., Han, P., and Ionel, D. M., “Smart Plug and Circuit Breaker Technologies for Residential Buildings in the US”
  • Kesgin, M. G., Han, P., Taran, N., and  Ionel,  D. M., "Overview of Flywheel Systems for Renewable Energy Storage with a Design Study for High-speed Axial-flux Permanent-magnet Machines". which received a best paper/poster award.

More details are available in the news section of the PEIK website.

IEEE ECCE 2019, Sep 29 - Oct 3, Baltimore, MD

SPARK Laboratory researchers, Dr. Peng Han, Narges Taran, Huangjie Gong, and Murat G. Kesgin, participated in this year's edition of IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Expo, ECCE 2019, and presented the following papers:

  • Taran, N., Heins, G., Rallabandi, V., Patterson, D., and Ionel, D. M., “Systematic Comparison of Two Axial Flux PM Machine Topologies: Yokeless and Segmented Armature versus Single Sided”
  • Gong, H., Rallabandi, V., McIntyre M. L., and Ionel, D. M., “On the Optimal Energy Controls for Large Scale Residential Communities including Smart Homes”
  • Akeyo, O., Rallabandi, V., Jewell, N., and Ionel, D. M., “Measurement and Estimation of the Equivalent Circuit Parameters for Multi-MW Battery Systems”
  • Rallabandi, V., Han, P., Kesgin, M. G., Taran, N., and Ionel, D. M., “Axial-field Vernier-type Flux Modulation Machines for Low-speed Direct-drive Applications”
  • Zhang, Y., Akeyo, O., He, J., and Ionel, D. M., “On the Control of a Solid-state Transformer for Multi-MW Utility-Scale PV-Battery Systems”
  • Taran, N., and Ionel, D. M., “A Hybrid Analytical and FE-based Method for Calculating AC Eddy Current Winding Losses Taking 3D Effects into Account”.

IEEE PES GM 2019, Aug 4 - Aug 8, Atlanta, GA

The SPARK Laboratory was represented at this year's edition of the IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, IEEE PES-GM 2019, by PhD student, Seun Akeyo, Professor Dan M. Ionel and Ph.D. student, Huangjie Gong (left to right in the photo). The following papers were presented:

  • Akeyo, O. M., Rallabandi, V., Jewell, N., and Ionel, D. M., "Modeling and Simulation of a Utility-Scale Battery Energy Storage System"
  • Gong, H., Rallabandi, V., and Ionel, D. M., "Load Variation Reduction by Aggregation in a Community of Rooftop PV Residences".

In addition, Professor Ionel also delivered a combined panel presentation In Memoriam for Professor Azizur Rahman and on the History of IPM Motor Technology, and participated in committee meetings as required by his role as MSC Past Chair.

IEEE ITEC 2019, Jun 19 - Jun 21, Novi, MI

Narges Taran, PhD candidate, and Damien Lawhorn, PhD student, both positioned on the very right side in the panoramic photo taken by Professor Dan M. Ionel during the PELS day celebration, attended IEEE ITEC 2019, and presented the following papers:

  • Taran, N., Rallabandi, V., and Ionel, D. M., “WAVED: A Coreless Axial Flux PM Motor for Drive Systems with Constant Power Operation”
  • Lawhorn, D., Rallabandi, V., and Ionel, D. M., “Electric Aircraft System Co-Simulation Including Body, Propeller, Propulsion, and Energy Storage Models” 
  • Zhang, Y., He, J., and Ionel, D. M., “Modeling and Control of a Multiport Converter based EV Charging Station with PV and Battery”.