Reflections of Iqra Aitbar
In our serie "What does the future bring?" our ESR's are sharing their perspective. This serie is linked to the Horizon Magazine article published on Monday, March 13 2024 which focusses on EU support for Ukrainian researchers including ETUT project regarding "Building bridges between Ukrainian and EU researchers" featuring Regis Nibaruta, Ivan Struzhko, Vladimir Havryliuk, Gert Rietveld and Frank Leferink. The full article can be found https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine/building-bridges-between-ukrainian-and-eu-researchers By Andrew Dunne.
Via Cordis, the project is described as'the ETUT project will model, design, estimate, quantify and monitor economic measures for a reliable, safe, effective and greener electrical transport system. The training programme will include innovative methods to be applied in electric transport... it may have far reaching consequences and may even see the railway network supporting or replacing local electrical utility networks' Can you explain the problem specifically? In simple terms, what exactly is the electrical engineering challenge in terms of future electric transport systems and what's the link with local electrical utility networks too?
From an EMC point of view; electrification of railways may potentially induce electromagnetic interference (EMI) within local electrical utility networks. This phenomenon arises primarily from the substantial increase in demand for electric power, particularly during peak charging periods for electric vehicles. The rapid fluctuation in current levels associated with these charging events can perturb the electromagnetic environment surrounding the power distribution infrastructure, leading to unintended emissions and susceptibility to interference. Additionally, the deployment of high-power charging stations and associated power electronics, if not adequately shielded or filtered, can contribute to the propagation of electromagnetic fields that could interfere with neighboring utility equipment.
When we spoke you described these two areas of electrical engineering where the main focus was - electromagnetic compatibility and power electronics. Can you give me examples of the kind of devices that might benefit from improvements to both and can you explain the link with these two areas and future electric transport systems?
In railways, major EMC issues are in the power electronics systems mainly the power converters, rectifiers, DC link and motor controls. Hence, these two areas are interconnected and one cannot be explored without the interrelation with other.
Are there any examples of really applied research which you are currently conducting which relates to electric transport systems which we can talk about? Can you explain what you are working on - in an applied sense - with whom, and how?
Yes, the application of my PhD title in particular (ESR10) “Time/Frequency characterization of power converters” can be used in standardization of railway system and other systems related to railways such as wearable and medical devices e.t.c. This is also of particular interest for rail companies such as Network Rails.
What is the long-term hope with this work? From a research point of view, what are YOUR long-term motivations for this all is and what are the impacts he envisages in the future (i.e. who does he see will benefit from this research in the future, and how?).
Since Electrical Transport has a great potential for future and almost every country has specified goals and budget to make their (almost) entire transport electrical but at the same time the number of electronics in environment is also increasing hence the risk of interference; thus this calls for a bright future of my research topic.
Could I get a reflection from you on the importance of developing future electric transport systems in view of climate change and emission reduction targets? Why is this issue you're tackling so important from an environmental perspective?
By implementing EMC measures, we can support the transition to electric trains, which emit fewer greenhouse gases than diesel trains. Prioritizing EMC in railways helps make rail transport more sustainable, contributing to emission reduction targets and combating climate change effectively.