With New NSF Award, Hanz Richter, Ph.D. Seeks to Revolutionize Control of Hybrid Powered Vehicles, Microgrids and Turboelectric Propulsion

Hanz Richter, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (MCE), has received funding from the Dynamics and Control Division of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore fundamental engineering principles and develop methodologies for the design, control, and optimization of power networks across physical domains.

The research is based on a new, generalized understanding of principles from thermodynamics; in particular, its second law, entropy and exergy. The research has applications in electrified aircraft propulsion, microgrids and electromechanical energy conversion.

With the NSF's three-year, $400,000 award, Dr. Richter will support Ph.D. students and mentor undergraduates in research. The group will extend the applicability of classical tools, such as entropy generation minimization to extended physical domains, with a focus on mechanical-electrical power conversion.

The impact of the new methodologies on the efficiency of hybrid aircraft propulsion will be assessed with a combination of gas turbine computer models and physical electromechanical components in the laboratory.

The Toolbox for the Modeling and Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems (T-MATS), a public-domain engine simulation platform developed by NASA, will be used for this purpose.

Dr. Richter’s research spans control theory and its applications to cyber-physical systems, industrial and biomedical robotics, aerospace systems and biomechatronics. His projects at CSU have been funded by the NSF, NASA, the Cleveland Clinic. He is also the author of Advanced Control of Turbofan Engines, published by Springer. (Image Credit: NASA)