“In his thesis, Andrés proposed innovative control software that enables precise, efficient and strong torque regulation over the entire speed”
Andrés Sierra’s doctoral thesis came second globally in the IEEE Industry Applications Society’s 2023 thesis competition
Andrés Sierra graduated as an Electronics Engineer from Los Andes University (Colombia) in 2008 and now works as a researcher in the field of automation and control systems applied to energy and electric transport systems at TECNALIA. Andrés has just won the second prize for the best doctoral thesis at the IEEE IAS (Industry Applications Society) in Nashville, US.
The automotive industry is one of the sectors that is most involved in reducing CO2 emissions. As a result, the electrification of road transport is on the rise, opening up new opportunities for research and industrial development. One of the largest technological challenges of introducing electric vehicles in the market is the development of efficient, reliable, compact and cost-effective propulsion systems.
This thesis was part of the European project called FITGEN (grant agreement 824335), which aimed to develop an advanced, functionally integrated traction system ready for industrialisation. The thesis focused particularly on the design, implementation and experimental validation of control software for a traction system based on multiphase machines, and a cascaded power converter.
Highlights of the thesis
- Innovative control software that enables precise, efficient and strong torque regulation over the entire speed range.
- The control software includes a DC voltage balancing algorithm for cascaded inverters. This is an innovative feature as it is the first time that this type of configuration has been included in full-scale propulsion systems.
- The solution was verified at a high level of technological maturity, as the drive system was integrated into a real, road-tested electric vehicle.
The industrial applicability of the proposal is therefore demonstrated and it may be of great interest to industrial engineers, researchers, OEMs and vehicle manufacturers.
Congratulations Andrés on this exceptional achievement!
