Ir. Ts. Dr. Rahimi Baharom, a senior lecturer from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia was recently awarded a Prototype Research Grant Scheme (PRGS) by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia to work on a project entitled Prototype of Robust Uninterruptible Wireless Power Supply using Modified Single-Phase Matrix Converter. The grant amount of RM108,642.00 is for a two-year project from 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2022.
The research aims to up-scale the existing laboratory setup into a prototype that combines rectifier and inverter circuits using a single-phase matrix converter (SPMC) circuit topology where it features the low power losses due to high power density. Therefore, the research aims to find solutions to solve serious concerns faced by floating offshore oil and gas platforms by minimizing the size of the Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) system.
This proposed prototype will also develop further advanced application of the proposed converter in line with the rapid development of Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) technology.
This future innovative technology of WPT aims to integrate the proposed UPS with its system to supply electric power without any wire. As a result of this, additional isolation to the proposed UPS system can be anticipated, ensuring a spark-free and maintenance-free system.
The WPT system is targeted to achieve an efficiency of higher than 90% between the transmitter and receiver coils. The reliability will be guaranteed through the open-circuit fault-tolerant, which possesses a redundancy feature with minimal switch requirement.
As a result, such new enhancements can be used as a good foundation of future wireless UPS system and will be in line with the Strategic Thrusts 1 and 2 of Malaysia’s Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 by contributing to the high technology subsector in the manufacturing sector.
The fully developed prototype will also contribute to Shift 7 of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education) which aspires to make innovation a major driver of the national economic growth of Malaysia.
It is hoped that the project would provide a great impact to the nation. Dr. Rahimi recently ublished an article on Grid to vehicle (G2V) wireless power supply using Single-Phase Matrix Converter. His area of expertise is on power electronics and wireless power transfer system and his publications can be viewed via https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=22333664600.