About
department of Electric Drives and TractionSpecialized research
Currently we are mainly focused on the development, design, simulation of control systems for semiconductor power converters, electrical machines and devices, electric drives, electric road and traction vehicles and other mechatronic systems. The department's staff is involved, among others, in the analysis, synthesis, optimization and implementation of perspective methods, modern control and fault detection algorithms for AC drives, control of power systems based on modern SiC and GaN semiconductor structures and communication strategies using modern microcomputer systems (mainly STMircoelectronics and Texas Instruments), both at the theoretical level and in practical applications.
Research and Development
Research activities are mainly focused on controlled electric drives and their components including their control parts. Research is mainly concentrated in the following areas- mathematical modelling and parameter identification of rotating AC machines
- modern modulation and control strategies of solid-state converters
- modern control methods for AC drives
- application of SiC and GaN conductors in power semiconductor converters
- development and optimization of control algorithms for power systems
- semiconductor power converters with high integrated power density
- control and modelling of mechatronic systems
Partners and cooperation
The scientific is supported also by grants of NATO, GAČR (Grant Agency of Czech Republic) and by cooperation with important producers as ŠKODA Plzeň a.s., ŠKODA Auto a.s., PAL Kbely a.s., Elektropřístroj Modřany s.r.o. and others.The scientific is supported also by grants of NATO, GAČR (Grant Agency of Czech Republic) and by cooperation with important producers as ŠKODA Plzeň a.s., ŠKODA Auto a.s., PAL Kbely a.s., Elektropřístroj Modřany s.r.o. and others.
Studies at the Deparment
We offer students professional studies in the field of electrical drives and their components. These disciplines are complemented by other courses that expand the basic knowledge of the electrical engineer. They cover in particular the areas of digital control; the generation, distribution and use of electrical energy; mechanical components of drives and their modelling; and the use of PLCs and microprocessors in electrical engineering.
Graduates of the Department
Our graduates find employment, for example, as control, research or operations personnel in the areas of design, testing and testing, control and operation of electric drives and their components, as well as in many other areas, for example in the field of computer technology. The extensive knowledge of the use of this technology acquired during their studies at the department helps them to do this.
From the history of the department
The first beginnings of the department can be traced back to 1884 when the teaching of electrical engineering was started at the Czech Technical University in Prague, with the inclusion of the recommended lectures Electrical Engineering I and II in Mechanical Engineering. It was Electrical Engineering II that focused on the construction of electrical machines - on determining the dimensions of electrical apparatus and transformers. In 1901, a new course on Constructive Electrical Engineering was also introduced, taught by Prof. Ing. Karel Novák. This course was later divided into three parts: Construction of Electric Networks, Electrical Equipment and Construction of Electrical Machines. In 1908, a machine room was built in the building on Charles Square No. 13 for measurements on electrical machines. In 1909, the field of electric drives began to develop with the new course Electric Railways.
Later, the establishment of the course Electrical Machine Construction led to the founding of the Institute of Electrical Machines, which existed until 1950. In 1949, the Institute of Theory of Electrical Machines was founded, which took over some subjects as well as equipment, including machinery, from the Institute of Electrical Machines and the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Electrical Engineering. In 1950, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering was established within the CTU and its individual departments began to operate according to the new Higher Education Act. Thus, in 1950, the Department of Electrical Machines and the Department of Theory of Electrical Machines were merged to form the Department of Electrical Machines, which later existed under the name of the Department of Electrical Machines and Instruments until 1969. In the school years 1969/1971 it was temporarily divided into the Department of Electrical Machine Theory and the Department of Electrical Machine Construction.
The development of the field of electrical drives led to the foundation of the Department of Electrical Drives and Trains, which later became part of the Department of Electrical Power Engineering and later the Department of Electric Power Utilisation under the name of the Department of Electrical Drives. In 1971, during the reorganization of the departments, the Department of Electrical Machines, Instruments and Drives was founded.
From the history of the department
In 1960, the construction of new buildings of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the CTU in Prague-Dejvice was started, where the Department started to move in the school year 1963/1964. In 1967, the new laboratories of the Department were put into operation, enabling the modernisation of laboratory teaching and research in the field of electrical machine measurement.
In 1960, a computer centre was established within the department - initially analogue, but later digital technology was used and a design computer centre was created. Methods of automated measurement and automated design of electrical machines were developed here. At the same time, applications of semiconductor converters in the field of electrical machines and devices were developed at the department in cooperation with industry. Technical didactic devices ranging from overhead projectors to personal computers began to be widely used in the department's teaching activities.
The need to ensure the education of traction specialists in the Czech Republic after the division of the federation led in 1994 to the introduction of the necessary lectures and to the renaming of the Department of Electric Drives and Traction. The Department has existed under this name until the present day. Since 1994, only modifications have been made to the content of the courses taught. In this case, the years 2003, when structured studies were introduced (division into B.Sc. and Eng. programmes), and 2015, when the programmes taught by the Departments of Power Engineering, Electrotechnology and Economics were merged into the joint programme Electrical Engineering, Power Engineering and Management, can be considered significant milestones.
