The SPARK Laboratory, which is affiliated with the Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky (PEIK) and operates within the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Engineering, has recently expanded its collaboration with Regal Beloit Corp. through the continuation of a multi-year sponsored research project. Regal, which is headquartered in Beloit, WI, is one of the largest electric motor manufacturers in the world, and a Fortune 1000 company with international operations and over 25,000 employees. The two organizations have very successfully collaborated over the last five years.

At UK, Dr. Dan M. Ionel, ECE Professor and L. Stanley Pigman Chair in Power, Director of the SPARK Lab and of the PEIK Institute, serves as the principal investigator (PI) for the project leading a team of students and postdoctoral researchers on topics of advanced analysis, simulation and optimization of special electric machines and power electronic drives. Example joint publications include: "Evaluating the Effects of Electric and Magnetic Loading on the Performance of Single- and Double-Rotor Axial-Flux PM Machines," by Narges Taran, Greg Heins, Vandana Rallabandi, Dean Patterson, and Dan M. Ionel in IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 56, No. 4, doi: 10.1109/TIA.2020.2983632, pp. 3488-3497 (2020). This paper describes the design and demonstration of one of the highest efficiency ever reported electric motors for 3/4hp at 1,050rpm typical ratings (see photo). A collection of publications in authors’ manuscript versions is available from the SPARK Lab website.

The SPARK Laboratory, which is affiliated with the Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky (PEIK) and operates within the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Engineering, has recently expanded its collaboration with Regal Beloit Corp. through the continuation of a multi-year sponsored research project. Regal, which is headquartered in Beloit, WI, is one of the largest electric motor manufacturers in the world, and a Fortune 1000 company with international operations and over 25,000 employees. The two organizations have very successfully collaborated over the last five years.

At UK, Dr. Dan M. Ionel, ECE Professor and L. Stanley Pigman Chair in Power, Director of the SPARK Lab and of the PEIK Institute, serves as the principal investigator (PI) for the project leading a team of students and postdoctoral researchers on topics of advanced analysis, simulation and optimization of special electric machines and power electronic drives. Example joint publications include: "Evaluating the Effects of Electric and Magnetic Loading on the Performance of Single- and Double-Rotor Axial-Flux PM Machines," by Narges Taran, Greg Heins, Vandana Rallabandi, Dean Patterson, and Dan M. Ionel in IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 56, No. 4, doi: 10.1109/TIA.2020.2983632, pp. 3488-3497 (2020). This paper describes the design and demonstration of one of the highest efficiency ever reported electric motors for 3/4hp at 1,050rpm typical ratings (see photo). A collection of publications in authors’ manuscript versions is available from the SPARK Lab website.