Development of a Building Electrical Power Systems Design Specialty

Enrollment in Electrical Power Engineering courses has been in a steady decline, and many institutions have dropped power and energy conversion courses. At the same time, the demand for engineers in the field has remained constant, and in some cases has increased significantly. To meet the demand for engineers in the electrical construction sector, the Milwaukee School of Engineering and local industry have worked together to develop a sequence of courses for a Building Electrical Power Systems Design Specialty in the Architectural Engineering program. This sequence includes four courses from the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department: Electrical Systems, and three courses on Electrical Power Distribution Systems (system basics, small systems, and large systems). The Architectural Engineering and Building Construction Department offers five courses: Illumination for Buildings, Communication Systems, National Electrical Code, Electrical System Cost Estimating and Specifications, and Electrical Power Quality for Buildings. This paper describes the development of these courses, along with feedback from the first graduating class, current students, and industry

Resonant Tank Motor Model For Voltage Reflection Simulations With PWM Drives

Reflected wave transient voltages that are impressed on drive output cables and low voltage AC induction motors are normally simulated with steep fronted dv/dt pulse waveforms from PWM voltage source inverters. System simulation arises from a need to correlate reflected wave peak voltage and risetime with the dielectric insulation capability of both the motor and cable. To obtain reasonable results, accurate models of each component must be employed. This investigation concentrates on parameter identification for a high frequency resonant tank motor model from fractional to several hundred horsepower