Farhina Haque
University of Akron Main Campus, OH·Engineering
Electric motors are central to electric vehicles and to connecting renewable energy sources to the power grid. Newer power electronics built on wide bandgap semiconductors switch faster and at higher voltages, which improves efficiency.
- Fields
Engineering
Materials Science
- Topics
polymer nanocomposites
electrical insulation
partial discharge
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Model the dielectric (insulating) properties of the interphase layer around nanoparticles in polymer nanocomposites as a function of interphase thickness and nanoparticle volume fraction.
- Use Multiphysics numerical simulations to test how tuning interphase properties lowers peak and average electric fields in motor winding insulation and suppresses partial discharge.
- Guide experiments that optimize polymer–nanoparticle pairing, fabrication method and filler concentration to produce partial-discharge-resistant insulation for inverter-fed electric machines.
More about the research
But they also send sharp voltage spikes into motor windings. These spikes stress the insulation unevenly and trigger partial discharge (PD), tiny electrical sparks inside the insulation that slowly wear it out. This project aims to design insulation that resists partial discharge in motors driven by fast-switching pulse width modulated inverters, the electronic drives that control motor speed.
Why it matters
Insulation failure from partial discharge is a major barrier to reliable, efficient motors run by modern power electronics. Longer-lasting winding insulation could make electric vehicle drives and grid-connected generators more dependable. It could benefit makers of motors and power systems across the energy and transportation sectors.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Spyridon Pavlidis
North Carolina State University, NC·Engineering·Early-career
Extract impact ionization coefficients — the parameters governing avalanche breakdown — from avalanche photodiodes fabricated on native aluminum nitride substrates, to establish how large an electric field aluminum-rich AlGaN can support.
Elaheh Ahmadi
University of California-Los Angeles, CA·Engineering·Early-career
Demonstrate enhancement-mode β-Ga2O3 fin field-effect transistors with breakdown voltages beyond 3 kV, specific on-resistance under 1 milliohm-cm², and switching efficiency above 98% at 15 kHz.
Ariful Haque
Texas State University, TX·Materials Science
Grow uniform, delamination-free diamond films on gallium oxide (Ga2O3) by first forming an ultrathin quenched carbon (Q-carbon) interlayer through pulsed laser annealing.
The school
University of Akron Main Campus: 2 labs on PI Pages, $25M a year on research, 75 research doctorates a year.
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