Course Overview
Through a building-block teaching approach, you will develop a basic understanding of AC electric machine design. By learning the core concepts of electromagnetic laws for machine design, magnetic circuit calculations, loss mechanisms, analytical design techniques, and other essential topics, you will improve your skills, and ultimately, your work. Recent developments in AC electric machine design also will be covered in this course.
Who Should Attend?
- Engineers involved in the design, specification, and integration of components and systems that require an understanding of AC machine design.
- Electrical and mechanical design engineers
- System engineers and integrators
- Project engineers and program managers
- Technical leaders
Attendees should have a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related science, or the equivalent amount of industrial experience.
Course Outline
Introduction to AC Machine Design
- Induction, PM, synchronous and switched reluctance
Sizing Laws: the influence of size
Power Sizing Equations
- Electric and magnetic loading
- Shear stress
Winding Types
- Full pitch and fractional windings
- Fractional pitch windings
- Distributed and concentrated windings
- Fractional slot windings
Magnetic Circuits
- Permeance and reluctance
- Multiple circuit paths
- Magnetic circuits with airgaps
Electric and Magnetic Materials
- Permanent magnet types
- Copper and aluminum
- Steel types
- Skin depth
Main Flux Path Calculations Using Magnetic Circuits
- Main magnetic circuit of an induction machine
- Effective gap and Carter''s coefficient
- Effective length
- Reluctance calculations
Leakage Reactance Calculations
- Slot leakage inductance
- Zigzag and differential leakage inductance
- Skew and end turn leakage inductance
Calculation of Machine Losses
- Eddy current and hysteresis losses
- Friction, windage, and copper losses
Testing and Parameter Characterization
Thermal Analysis and Cooling Systems
- Conduction, convection, and radiation
- FEA, CFD, lumped-parameters equivalent-networks
- Fan ventilation, liquid cooling
Manufacturing Topics
- Laminations, cores, windings, frames, assemblies
- Material and manufacturing tolerances
Vibrations and Noise
- Electromagnetic forces; harmonic components
- Mechanism of transmission
- Mitigation measures
Machine Design Examples
"Back of the Envelope" Calculations to Automated Optimal Computer Design
Finite Element Analysis
- Fundamentals
- Examples
Special Topics—How to Design Machines for Self-Sensing
Instructors
Ayman El-Refaie
Ayman M. EL-Refaie received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin– Madison in 2002 and 2005, respectively. Since 2005, he has been with the Electrical Machines and Drives Laboratory, General Electric Global Research Center, NY, USA as a Principal Engineer and Project Leader. He is the author of more than 50 journal, and 85 conference publications with several others pending. He holds 45 issued U.S. patents with several others pending. His research interests include electrical machines and drives. Since January 2017 he became the Thomas and Suzanne Werner Endowed Chair in Secure and Sustainable Energy at Marquette University. He is a Fellow of the IEEE
Dan Ionel
Dan M. Ionel, PhD, FIEEE, is currently Chief Engineer for Regal Beloit Corp., and Visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. After completing post-doctoral research in the SPEED Laboratory, University of Glasgow, UK, Dr. Ionel worked in industrial R&D for large corporations in the UK and the US, most recently as Chief Scientist for Vestas. His design experience covers a wide range of electric machines and drives for various applications with power ratings between 0.002 hp and 10,000 hp. Dr. Ionel published more than 100 technical papers, including two winners of Best Paper Awards from the IEEE Industry Applications Society Electric Machines Committee, and holds more than 30 patents. An IEEE Fellow, he is the Chair-Elect of the IEEE Power and Energy Society Electric Motor Sub-committee, Chair of the Milwaukee IEEE Power Electronics Chapter, and Editor-in-Chief of the Electric Power Components and Systems Journal.
Thomas Jahns
Dr. Thomas M. Jahns received his bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees from MIT, all in electrical engineering.
Dr. Jahns joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He served for 14 years as a Co-Director of the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC), a world-renowned university/industry consortium in the electrical power engineering field. Since 2021, he is the Grainger Emeritus Professor of Power Electronics and Electrical Machines.
Prior to coming to UW-Madison, Dr. Jahns worked at GE Corporate Research and Development (now GE Global Research) in Niskayuna, NY, for 15 years, where he pursued new power electronics and motor drive technology in a variety of research and management positions. His current research interests at UW-Madison include integrated motor drives and electrified propulsion for both land vehicles and aircraft.
Dr. Jahns is a Fellow of IEEE. He received the 2005 IEEE Nikola Tesla Technical Field Award “for pioneering contributions to the design and application of AC permanent magnet machines”. Dr. Jahns is a Past President of the IEEE Power Electronics Society. He was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2015 and received the IEEE Medal in Power Engineering in 2022.
Darren Tremelling
Darren Tremelling, Ph.D. is currently a Principal Scientist in ABB Corporate Research.
After completing his doctorate in WEMPEC, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Dr. Tremelling has worked in ABB Corporate Research. His research experience covers a range of electric machines for various applications with power ratings between 1 [kW] to 7 [MW].
Bulent Sarlioglu
Bulent Sarlioglu is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Technology and Collaboration Director of WEMPEC of the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium. From 2000 to 2011, he was with Honeywell International Inc.'s Aerospace Division, Torrance, CA, USA, most recently as a Staff Systems Engineer. His expertise includes electrical machines, drives, and power electronics, particularly in electrifying transportation and industrial applications. He is the inventor or co-inventor of 22 U.S. patents and many international patents. In addition, he has more than 300 technical papers that are published in conference proceedings and journals. Dr. Sarlioglu received Honeywell's Outstanding Engineer Award in 2011 for his outstanding contribution to aerospace, the NSF CAREER Award in 2016, and the 4th Grand Nagamori Award from Nagamori Foundation, Japan, in 2018. Dr. Sarlioglu received the IEEE PES Cyril Veniott Award in 2021. Dr. Sarlioglu became a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2021 and an IEEE Fellow in 2022.
Hao Huang
Dr. Hao Huang is the Retired Technology Chief of General Electric Aviation’s Electrical Power Division. Prior to retirement in 2020, he was responsible for providing technical direction, innovation strategies, and multi-generation product roadmaps for the GE aircraft electrical power division. He has been constantly leading and contributing innovations and inventions of aircraft electrical power technologies. Dr. Huang is a NAE Member, IEEE fellow, and SAE fellow. He received his Ph.D. Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA in 1987. He has 33 years of experience in Aircraft Electrical Power Systems, Power Generations, Engine Starting, Power Electronics and Controls, and Electric Vehicle Drives. He has 80 US patents including several pending, and has published a number of papers. Dr. Hao Huang is the recipient of 2019 IEEE Transportation Technologies Award.
Upcoming dates (1)
Principles of AC Machine Design
Location: Online
Course #: RA01413-D611
Fee: $1,875
interpro.wisc.edu/RA01413
Fee
- $1,875
-
Fee covers course materials and live online instruction.
Discounts
Team 3: When three or more sign up from same employer, your course fee is $1,500.00.
The Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC) Member Discount: $200 off the course fee. Affiliation will be verified.
Credits
- CEU: 2
- PDH: 20
Schedule
Registration Date/Time:
4/14/2025 8:0am Central Time
Event Dates/Times:
- 4/14/2025 8:30am - 5:00pm Central Time
- 4/15/2025 8:30am - 5:00pm Central Time
- 4/16/2025 8:30am - 2:30pm Central Time
Course Notes
This online course uses the Canvas and Zoom platforms.
Your registration confirmation will guide students through accessing the Canvas course site.
Students will create and log in to the Canvas course site with a NetID. Course assets such as instructional materials, participation certificates, and course evaluations will be available to all students through the Canvas course site.
The course materials are all digital and only available on the Canvas course website.
Students will access sessions via the Zoom web conferencing platform. The Zoom link will be provided a few days before the course.
Please watch the email address that you provide during registration for release dates and pre-course information.
Instructors
Thomas Jahns, Dan Ionel, Ayman El-Refaie, James Swanke, Ian Brown
Location
This is an online course.
Cancellation Policy
If you cannot attend, please notify us no later than one week before your course begins, and we will refund your fee. Cancellations received after this date and no-shows are subject to a $150 administrative fee. You may enroll a substitute at any time before the course starts. Once you have accessed the online course, exam and/or materials, no cancellations or refunds are permitted.