Keynote VII

Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Shrikrishna V. Kulkarni
Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering
IIT Bombay, India

Keynote Title: Magnetics for Power Electronics

Abstract: 

Magnetic components like inductors, transformers, etc., are essential parts of power electronic circuits. They are used for galvanic isolation, voltage transformation, filtering action, power flow management, etc. The size and overall dimensions of the circuits depend on how efficiently these components are designed and manufactured. The main requirements in designing the components are low losses and high-power densities with compact dimensions. Selection of core geometry and its magnetic material with desirable saturation magnetic flux density is the most important design step. Hysteresis, eddy, and anomalous components make the total magnetic loss. Skin and proximity losses and the corresponding effect on the winding impedance can become critical issues at high frequencies. Design of insulation in magnetic devices used in power converters with SiC devices is an important aspect due to repetitive voltage pulses with significantly short rise times. To overcome these challenges, relevant electromagnetic concepts, including the theories of magnetization processes, eddy currents, and partial discharges, need to be properly understood. This talk focuses on such fundamental aspects in addition to the design of magnetic circuits, coils, and insulation for high-frequency applications.

Keynote Speaker’s Biography:

Dr. Shrikrishna V. Kulkarni is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Bombay. He was Institute Chair Professor (March 2021 – March 2024) and INAE (Indian National Academy of Engineering) Chair Professor in the Department (April 2018 – March 2020). He is a Fellow of IEEE and INAE. He is also an IEEE PES Distinguished Lecturer. He was Editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery and IEEE Power Engineering Letters (2012–2019). He worked at Crompton Greaves Limited (1990–2001) and specialized in the design and development of transformers up to 400 kV class.

He was a recipient of the Young Engineer Award conferred by INAE in 2000 for his contributions to ‘Electromagnetic Field Computations and High Voltage Insulation Design in Transformers’. He was also honoured with the Career Award for Young Teachers from All India Council for Technical Education in 2001. He received Best Paper Awards in international conferences on transformers held in 2002 and 2006.

He has authored a book Transformer Engineering: Design, Technology, and Diagnostics, Second Edition, published by CRC Press in September 2012 and he received IIT Bombay Research Dissemination Award 2016 for the book. He has adapted an undergraduate text book on electromagnetics for Asia, Principles of Electromagnetics, Oxford University Press, published in October 2015. He delivered NPTEL MOOC Course on ‘Electrical Equipment and Machines: Finite Element Analysis’ in 2020. He has also developed Virtual Electromagnetics Laboratory to effectively teach involved concepts using real-life practical examples and field visualizations, which has attracted more than 34,000 visitors till now.

His extensive interactions with transformer and power industries are reflected in his numerous consultancy projects for them. He has organized several training programs on transformers and computational electromagnetics for engineers from industries and academia in India. He has also set up the Field Computation Laboratory and the Insulation Diagnostics Laboratory in the Electrical Engineering Department at IIT Bombay. He contributed to his Institute in infrastructure development and administration through positions of Associate Dean-II (Infrastructure, Planning, and Support) and Dean (Administrative Affairs), respectively.

He has more than 210 publications in reputed journals and conferences, and has eight Indian and two US patents to his credit. His current areas of research include Analysis and Diagnostics of Transformers, Electromagnetic and Coupled Field Computations, Modelling of Magnetic Materials, Insulation Diagnostics, and Energy Transition.