119
The Institute‘s Profile
At the Institute for Drive Systems and
Power Electronics, experts for electrical
machines, power electronics and drive
control are working on research projects
covering the entire field of drive technol-
ogy, reaching from the microwatt to the
multi-megawatt range. A unique feature
of the IAL in the German-speaking part
of the world is the close co-operation of
two full professorships in drive technol-
ogy united in one institute, each of the
professors having approximately 10 years
of practical experience in industry.
The joining of the two formerly inde-
pendent institutes Electrical Machines
and Drives and Power Electronics to one
institute in 2001 reflects the technologi-
cal development towards integral overall
systems. On the one hand, this structure
is the ideal basis for a close co-operation,
and on the other hand, it offers distinct
expertise in both chairs.
The IAL presently consists of 2 full pro-
fessors, 3 retired professors, 2 senior re-
searchers (post docs), more than 40 re-
search associates, 11 administrative and
technical staff members and approxi-
mately 50 students.
Chair of Electrical Machines and
Drive Systems
The main research work in the field of
electrical machines focuses on the de-
velopment of calculation methods and
software as well as on the research, pre-
calculation and elimination of technically
important parasitic effects like magneti-
cally excited noise, torque pulsations or
bearing currents.
The chair is actually held by Prof. Dr.-Ing.
Bernd Ponick, whose fields of activity es-
pecially comprise harmonic field effects
in induction and synchronous machines,
small electrical machines and micro actu-
ators, combined analytical and numerical
calculation methods, transient phenom-
ena in drive systems, special effects con-
cerning converterfed machines and fault
analysis in electrical drive systems.
Chair of Power Electronics and Drive
Control
The competences in the field of power
electronics are reaching from the charac-
terisation of power semiconductors and
the development of innovative gate drives,
the design and optimisation of power
electronic circuits including filters, to con-
verter control and modulation methods,
and the control of electric drives with or
without mechanical sensors.
The chair is held by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel
Mertens, whose fields of activity com-
prise applications of power electronics
and drives in hybrid and electric vehicles,
in wind energy and distributed power
generation, and in industrial applications.
Leibniz Universität Hannover
IAL laboratory
Converter for electrified scooter Piaggio MP3
Efficiency map of a PMSM with buried magnets in V shape
