Research Associate in Superconducting Claw Pole Machines

Full time: 35 hours per week

Fixed term contract for 12 months

We are looking for a Post-doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) with expertise in Applied Superconductivity and Electrical Machines, to become part of a team to investigate a novel topologies of superconducting electrical machines for energy and transport applications.

The Opportunity:

The SuperMachine project funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies program will deliver a set of enabling technologies for the development of high power density and high efficiency electrical machines using high temperature superconductors (HTS) and composite structural materials. Conventional machine topologies cannot meet the increasing demands of power density (W/kg) in future transport and energy applications. A paradigm shift in electrical machine technology is required with a radical change in materials used and machine topologies. In the SuperMachine project the use of conventional machine materials such as copper, magnets and iron will be used or replaced by superconducting materials in such a way to fully exploit superconducting characteristics of high magnetic fields and high currents. The combination of HTS materials with composite structural materials of low mass density will potentially lead to a significant increase in power density across a range of applications. In this exciting and adventurous project this position is one of a number of appointments to be made over the next 5 years to build a world leading team to develop high power density electrical machines to. The successful candidate will join an active and expanding Electrical Power Conversion group within the Institute for Energy Systems in the School of Engineering working on electrical generation systems for renewable energy converters. 

Your skills and attributes for success: 

• PhD in Superconducting Electrical Machines.
• Experience of electromagnetic structural and thermal modelling of electrical machines and their control.
• Experience of setting up test rigs for experimental work.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills with experience of presenting at conferences, and to senior engineers industry, as well as writing technical reports and publishing papers.
• The ability to be creative and flexible whilst working as part of a team as well as independently.

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