Structural and Thermal Behaviour of Ferrite and SMC IPT Pads for Electric Roadway Applications
The structural durability of road-embedded inductive power transfer (IPT) systems, which enable electric vehicles to be charged wirelessly while moving, has yet to be fully investigated. This is particularly important for the ferrite cores due to their brittleness. To address this issue, three phases of research were carried out. First, experimental and finite-element-based numerical methods were developed to examine the structural response of IPT pads. Second, a soft magnetic composite (SMC) suitable for use in IPT pads was developed. Finally, an FEA (finite element analysis) based case study was conducted to compare the thermal and structural performance of ferrite and SMC pads. The optimal SMC composition of polyurethane and 74 vol% crushed ferrite was used in the charging system. After validating the experimental and numerical method for structural analysis, the FEA-based case study found that the SMC pad outperformed the ferrite pad under purely wheel loading but performed poorly under thermal loading.
Academic leader: Prof. Simon Bickerton
Integrated Thermal Management for Heavy Duty Vehicular Inductive Wireless Charging Systems
Nowadays, wireless charging of electric vehicles has received significant attention due to limitations with conductive charging systems, and the role it can play in increasing the uptake of electric vehicles due to its inherent safety and flexibility. Despite moderately higher cost, installing inductive power transfer systems is preferred over installing conductive systems, due to the former’s potential to service both light and heavy-duty vehicles. Therefore, the goal of this project is to enable fast inductive wireless chargers at off-road hubs, and dynamic wireless charging systems for heavy-duty vehicles. During this research, novel nano and micro-structured magnetic materials and their thermal-mechanical behaviour will be studied. Next, the thermal, structural, and electromagnetic models generated will be coupled, and experimental validation will be completed. Finally, the integrated thermal management system will be tested. The impact of this research will be to increase the driving range of heavy-duty vehicles, while simultaneously reducing charging times and weight of batteries.
Academic leader: Prof. Simon Bickerton
Design of High-Speed Hull Structures and Analysis of Failure Mechanics under Dynamic Ocean Loads
Water impacts form the critical load case for high performance racing craft. These are highly dynamic, non-uniform and non-linear events that are difficult to accurately analyse and design for. Existing design standards reduce this down equivalent a static load, which may not be appropriate for modern carbon fibre stringer stiffened yacht structures. This work aims to compare such structures under static uniform pressure loads and dynamic slamming loads to improve design practices and develop practical testing methodologies to validate potential designs. So far, single stringer specimens have been tested in 3-point bend tests, and a scaled panel has been tested with stiffeners aligned parallel and perpendicular to the slamming flow direction. Analysis indicates that the perpendicular configuration is the most likely to induce failure. Future work will repeat the perpendicular tests using full-scale panels in uniform pressures and water impacts.
Academic leader: Dr. Tom Allen
Crashworthiness of High-Performance Sailing Yachts
SailGP’s foiling catamaran, the F50, has been involved in several collisions during race events. A crashworthiness investigation of the F50’s structure and potential collision scenarios was undertaken to improve its safety. The F50’s composite construction presents opportunities for lightweight energy absorption, but development of crashworthy structures was made more complicated by a lack of regulated collision load cases present in other industries. Telemetry data was analysed to determine the conditions of potential future collisions to develop load cases. The impact angles determined by this data analysis will induce significant lateral loading on the impacting F50’s bow. Physical tests on the materials and structures in the F50’s current construction were performed to determine their failure modes and to develop explicit finite element models. These models and the aforementioned load cases were used to develop modified bow topologies that displayed more favourable failure modes and energy absorption.
Academic leader: Assoc. Prof. Mark Battley
Decision-Making in the Design of Large Complex Composite Structures
Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) are synonymous with ‘high-performance’ and ‘lightweight’ products and have allowed improvements in performance in many pursuits. These relatively novel materials continue to provide cutting-edge performance but, importantly, still exhibit behaviour which is not fully understood and requires careful design consideration for their effective use. The efficient design of Large Complex Composite Structures (LCCS) can be a veritable quandary, and targeting maximal strength and minimal mass proves difficult without engaging effective design tools or methodology. As such, a more sophisticated understanding of the influence of early-stage design decision making is required. Sufficiently easy-to-use and effective tools can aid designers and empower the production of lighter, more efficient structures necessitated by competitive pursuits or sectors where efficient production of energy or it’s use is key. This work provides tools to assess the impacts of structural architecture design on the final mass of LCCS.
Academic leader: Dr. Tom Allen
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