Post-doctoral researcher: accounting for harmonics in electrical machines, link to power systems

KU Leuven boasts a rich tradition of education and research that dates back six centuries. The university’s basic research orientation has always been and will remain fundamental research. At the same time, the university remains vigilantly open to contemporary cultural, economic and industrial realities, as well as to the community’s needs and expectations. KU Leuven is currently by far the largest university in Belgium in terms of research funding and expenditure (EUR 455.1 million in 2015). KU Leuven conducts fundamental and applied research in all academic disciplines with a clear international orientation.
In the Times Higher Education ranking KU Leuven is ranked as the 12th European university, while in the Reuters Top 100 of the World’s most innovative institutions, KU Leuven is listed as the first European university.

The ELECTA research group of the Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT) of KU Leuven performs research on aspects of generation, transmission, distribution and rational use of electrical energy. Topics covered are smart grids, reliable power systems with high penetration of renewable energy sources, HVDC and LVDC, energy markets, integration of renewable energy sources on transmission and distribution. Six professors lead the group. They manage the research assisted by a teams of senior researchers, post-doctoral researchers and about 50 PhD students.

EnergyVille is an association of the Flemish research institutes KU Leuven, VITO, imec and UHasselt in the field of sustainable energy and intelligent energy systems. EnergyVille brings research, development, training and industrial innovation together under one name, in close cooperation with local, regional and international partners. EnergyVille strives to become one of the top five European institutes in innovative energy research. For that reason, the center was embedded in big national and international networks from the start.

Responsibilities

The post-doctoral researcher will be part of the ELECTA research group as part of EnergyVille. The researcher will support the research activities in the analysis of electrical machines (transformers, rotating electrical machines) by focusing on the impact of the harmonics on their performances together with the link to the power systems in which these machines play a role and relevant expertise is needed. 

• Develop innovative reduced-order models of electrical machines, with particular attention to the nonlinearities and harmonics, in view of co-simulation at the power system level.
• Contribute to the on-going research in the group: directly and through (co-)supervision of junior researchers. 
• Contribute to publicly and industrially funded research projects aimed at the efficient and accurate multi-harmonic analysis of electromechanical devices. 
• Publish research outcomes in top academic journals and conferences. 
• Represent the group within projects and towards the industry.

Profile

• You have a PhD degree in electrical engineering, a solid background in time-domain, frequency-domain numerical modelling of electromagnetic devices as well as model order reduction techniques. Knowledge of power systems and power electronics is a plus.
• You have good software skills and high-level programming languages (python, julia), e.g., finite element software (commercial or open source), Matlab/Simulink. 
• You should have obtained clear scientific contributions during your PhD, e.g. shown through publications in relevant academic journals. 
• You are interested in working with experts in numerical modelling and different aspects power systems, and willing to train and supervise junior researchers. 
• You should be willing to occasional travel in framework of your projects. 
• You are able to communicate fluently in English, both written and spoken. 
• Knowledge of the Dutch language is a plus.
• You are willing to contribute to grant proposals in the field of your expertise.
• You will work as a post-doctoral researcher in an internationally recognized team at the most innovative university in Europe. 

Offer

• A fixed duration contract (duration 1 or 2 years, with potential continuation, and gross monthly salary of about €4.840, depending on experience). 
• Involvement in the EnergyVille research collaboration, a new facility with state-of-the-art laboratories and over 300 researchers working in the field of energy. 
• The opportunity to be active in an international research environment. 
• You will engage in research collaborations and participate at international conferences.

More information

Energyville
Electa

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. ir. Ruth Vazquez Sabariego, tel.: +32 16 32 88 91, mail: ruth.sabariego@kuleuven.be

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