The IEEE Portugal Section proudly unveils the winner of the second edition of the esteemed Best PhD Thesis Award, honoring exceptional theses within the technical areas encompassed by the IEEE. This recognition was open to former Ph.D. students enrolled in Portuguese Higher Education Institutions, acknowledging those who publicly defended their theses between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022.

After meticulous evaluation by a panel of experts, including members from the IEEE Portugal Section and respected industry professionals, the standout recipient emerged for their outstanding contributions in technical and scientific domains.

Winner of the Best PhD Thesis Award:

• Pedro Filipe da Costa Gonçalves, for the thesis “Fault-Tolerant Predictive Control of PMSGs in Offshore Wind Turbines” (PhD Thesis at Universidade de Coimbra). This thesis focuses on enhancing fault-tolerant strategies for six-phase permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs), widely used in offshore wind turbines and critical applications like aerospace and electrical traction. The thesis aims to increase system availability by proposing innovative control algorithms and fault-tolerant strategies.

Key Points:

• • Control Algorithms and Fault-Tolerant Strategies: Gonçalves introduces novel control algorithms and fault-tolerant strategies for six-phase PMSG drives, leveraging Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control (FCS-MPC). These strategies minimize current harmonics and address unmodeled dynamics in PMSG drives, ensuring more accurate and efficient operations.
  • Mathematical Modeling and Electromagnetic Design: The thesis develops mathematical models of asymmetrical PMSMs and includes electromagnetic designs for low-power six-phase PMSMs. Finite element analysis validates the performance under healthy and post-fault conditions.
  • Diagnostic Methods for Fault Detection: Gonçalves proposes diagnostic methods for detecting high-resistance connections (HRCs) and open phase faults (OPFs) without extra sensors. These methods effectively detect faults in different PMSM operating conditions.
  • Fault-Tolerant Control Strategies: Novel fault-tolerant predictive control strategies are introduced, minimizing the need for system model changes during transitions from healthy to post-fault conditions. These strategies demonstrate high performance in post-fault operating modes, ensuring system resilience and efficiency.

Pedro Filipe da Costa Gonçalves’ research represents a significant contribution to improving fault tolerance and control strategies for six-phase PMSG drives, advancing reliability and efficiency in critical applications.

The Best PhD Thesis Award serves as a distinguished platform for students to showcase their unwavering commitment to academic excellence. The IEEE Portugal Section extends gratitude to all applicants for their remarkable contributions, propelling innovation and progress in their respective technical fields. To explore previous winners and their remarkable achievements, visit this link for more information.