Powering Up the United States Navy

From propulsion to pulsed power-directed energy systems, an enormous amount of power keeps the United States Navy on duty at all times. However, the Navy faces a challenge: with the fleet’s ongoing conversion to electric power, how can the Navy be more efficient and cost-effective when it comes to power usage aboard ships?

Paul Ohodnicki, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, is part of a multi-institutional team of researchers to receive a $3.97 million grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for their proposal, “Innovative Magnetic Material Solutions for Navy High-Frequency Power Systems.” The collaborators will create new magnetic materials that allow the Navy’s advanced power electronic circuits to meet the necessary power conversion, conditioning, and storage and achieve smaller size and weight through Megahertz (MHz) frequency switching and Megawatts (MW) power levels.

The team is made up of researchers from Northeastern University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Missouri – Kansas City, and Dartmouth College.

Pushing the Limits of Interdisciplinary Research

According to Ohodnicki, this project challenges the operational limits of magnetic materials in terms of frequency and power, addressing both materials science and engineering for circuit applications. He says the project tackles a materials science problem, but the boundary conditions of new material engineering and development are intimately tied to end-use circuit applications.

“It’s critical to understand the materials science and engineering aspects to solve this problem,” said Ohodnicki. “Knowing the electrical engineering details allows our group to think critically about the practicality of the design strategies under the operating conditions and properties of the materials we’re trying to engineer. Not everyone in the field can take this interdisciplinary approach, which is a distinguishing characteristic of our team.”

Materializing a Solution

The research team proposed two Materials Focus Areas (MFAs) and one Additive Manufacturing Focus Area (AMFA) to address the Navy’s problem. The MFAs reflect the Navy’s power system needs because of a lack of suitable commercially available materials that address necessary power conversion, conditioning and storage requirements. Additive manufacturing will produce high-quality inductor materials for power electronic systems based on new material design concepts. Ohodnicki’s $850,000 grant portion will establish MFA-I and AMFA at Pitt while he supports the rest of the team in their interdisciplinary project responsibilities.

The focus areas are:

MFA-I: Navy Needs in Shipboard Power Systems at 0.5 > f > MHz

• Researchers will create new composite and magnetic materials that efficiently operate in the MHz frequency switching range while keeping a high magnetization value.

MFA-II: Navy Needs in Pulse Power Systems at Frequencies Beyond 250 MHz

• Researchers will pursue new ferrite-based magnetic materials for high-power pulse generator applications – such as sensors, communications and electromagnetic warfare (EW) measures and countermeasures – that can handle hundreds of MHz.

AMFA: Advanced Manufacturing for Cost-effective Scalability and Performance 

• Binder jet 3D printing (BJ3DP) can quickly produce complex structures varying in size and shape. This technology will develop and scale materials and inductors, and leverage the enhanced capabilities of the Advanced Magnetics for Power and Energy Development laboratory supported through a recent Pitt ONR DURIP award.

Simulation, Modeling, and Testing (SMT) will guide materials through development efforts with improved material and component modeling, thorough measurements of performance parameters, and the design and implementation of prototype components. 

The project culminates in a final demonstration of an inductor using new materials with enhanced properties for this high-frequency and high-power application.

Research team members:

• Vincent G. Harris, team principal investigator, University Distinguished Professor and William Lincoln Smith Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University
• Parisa Andalib, co-PI, senior technical personnel, assistant research professor of electrical and computer engineering, Northeastern University
• Yunume Fitchorova, co-PI, senior research scientist, George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security; affiliated associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, Northeastern University
• Paul Ohodnicki, co-PI, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, University of Pittsburgh
• Feyza Berber-Halmen, co-PI, research engineer, Missouri Institute of Defense and Energy, University of Missouri – Kansas City
• Charles Sullivan, co-PI, Sue and John Ballard ’55 TT’56 Professor of Engineering Engineering, Dartmouth College

“This is a significant project that I’m confident will lead to impactful advances,” said Brian Gleeson, Pitt MEMS department chair. “Dr. Ohodnicki’s expertise in magnetic materials coupled with an impressive track record of transitioning lab-scale research to applications make him a valuable member of this collaborative project.”