Thesis work: 30 hp - Electrical aging Insulation

Main title = 30hp – Design and verification of a multi-channel system for voltage endurance test of electrical machine insulation

Background:
Electric propulsion is the focus of research and development in the automotive sector on various scales, from passenger cars to heavy tracks for transportation of goods. The demand for increasing the power of electric machines has pushed the limits for the electric insulation materials to endure higher voltage, short rise time pulses, chemical compatibility with cooling media and eventually longer lifetime. The electrical insulation system of electrical motors is typically comprised of a slot liner, potting resin, and wire coatings, and its performance determines the functionality of the electrical machine. The insulation system is subjected to thermal, mechanical and electrical ageing. Such combination of ageing factors makes predictions of insulation lifetime to be very complicated and experimental methods are widely applied. One of the types of experiments is the so-called voltage endurance test (VET), which allows for evaluation of insulation during accelerated aging. In such tests, the insulation is exposed to higher thermal and electrical stresses than those appearing in operation. An experimental setup for conducting VET has been recently developed at Chalmers in the high voltage lab.

Objective
The thesis work focuses on further development of the setup to implement a multichannel system which will allow for simultaneous testing of several insulation samples under the same conditions (voltage levels and temperatures) and their independent commutation in case of breakdown.

Job description

· Literature survey on insulation systems of electrical machines, materials for insulation and electrical test methods.

· Getting familiar with the existing setup and conducting VET for several prospective materials for wire insulation and slot liners.

· Designing a multi-channel system for VET, introducing necessary modifications in the existing setup and testing the multi-channel system by running the VET on selected material samples, verifying the results with the reference case.

· Providing recommendations for further improvements and building VET test rig.

Education/program/focus
Indicate education, program or focus: Electrical engineering

Number of students: 1

Start date for the thesis work: January 2026

Estimated time required: 20 weeks/6 months

Contact persons and supervisors:
Prof. Yuriy Serdyuk yuriy.sedyuk@chalmers.se,
Assoc. Prof. Thomas Hammarström thomas.hammarstrom@chalmers.se.

Öystein Krogen, Head of Materials for electrification, Traton SE/AB oystein.krogen@scania.com

Application: Your application must include a CV, personal letter and transcript of grades

A background check might be conducted for this position. We are conducting interviews continuously and may close the recruitment earlier than the date specified.