Dr. Nirav Patel - PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

ENODA (Harmonising Energy) Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Senior Power Electronics Design Engineer (May 23 – Present)

Power Electronics Engineer (Apr’ 23 – Apr, 24)

Developed and implemented real-time test-bed of 3.3 kVA small-scale and 400 kVA full-scale commercial system using SpeedGoat performance control suit.
Performed a wide array of experimental testing on 3.3 kVA small-scale systems and 400 kVA full-scale commercial systems, under various electrical anomalies to ascertain the effectiveness of the core control algorithm (Symmetrical and asymmetric faults, reverse power flow, frequency excursion, etc.).
Contributed significantly to the development and validation of model-based design (MBD) for a 400 kVA full-scale commercial system (Virtual plant and core control system) in the MATLAB/Simulink software environment.
Performed validation testing of the wide-bandgap SiC MOSFETs-based power electronics module to verify its capability to generate controlled voltage and current while operating at a high switching frequency.
Verified the performance of SiC MOSFETs-based power electronics module with double pulse testing and thermal characterization.
Verified the controllability of the 400 kVA commercial full-scale system to drive the secondary voltage and primary power factor to its target ballpark.
Collaborated closely with cross-functional stakeholders to address the various technical challenges encountered during the design and implementation process of commercial 400 kVA full-scale and 3.3 kVA small-scale systems.

UNIVERSITY OF SHARJAH | RISE | UoS Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Postdoctoral Fellow for Smart Grid (Oct’ 21 – Mar' 23)

Developed real-time test-bed for Microgrid having capability to seamlessly transition from Grid-connected (GC) mode to Islanded/Standalone mode (SA), and vice-versa. More precisely, in this work, efforts are exercised to devise novel control frameworks that enable a seamless transition of Microgrid from GC to SA mode, and vice-versa.
The Microgrid is developed using OPAL-RT control suit. More precisely, the feasibility and operability of the Microgrid test-bed is demonstrated using Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL), Model-in-the-Loop (MIL), Software-in-the-Loop (SIL), Processor-in-the-Loop (PIL), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL), and Control HIL (CHIL) using both dSPACE-1104 and OPAL-RT (OP5700).
The control system deliberately generates the controlled harmonic components in the PV inverter output current to improve the Power Quality (PQ) of the host utility grid.
Subsequent to islanding from the host grid, the magnitude of the PCC space vector voltages are utilized as feedback signals to regulate the three-phase load voltages.
During electrical anomalies, Finite State Machine (FSM) based control performs the functionality check of system parameters (e.g., grid voltage, frequency, and phase-angle) in accordance with grid interconnection requirements prescribed in the IEEE std-1547 (2018) and provide seamless transition from GC to SA mode, and vice versa.

MALAVIYA NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (MNIT) Jaipur, Rajasthan

Ph.D. Research Assistant (Jan '18 – Aug '21)

Developed real-time test bench for grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) system using dSPACE-1104 control suite for PQ improvement. This way, it complies with the 5 % stringent current THD limit prescribed in the IEEE revised Standard 519 (2014).
Devised various adaptive and efficient control algorithms for the reference current generation Implemented auto-scaling variable perturbation-size maximum power point tracking algorithms through commercially cheap Arm Cortex M4 based STM32F407VGT6 microcontroller.
Implemented auto-scaling variable perturbation-size maximum power point tracking algorithm through commercially cheap Arm Cortex M4-based STM32F407VGT6 microcontroller.
Performed experimentation for grid-connected PV systems under exposure to various faults and disturbances (i.e., distorted utility grid and perturbation in the load and solar insolation).
Collaborated closely with the team of M.Tech students to create and maintain lab manuals for basic power electronics and electric drives.
Conducted industry-oriented research and published 30+ papers in peer-reviewed refereed journals and conference proceedings.

VADODARA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING (VIER) Kotambi-Vadodara

Assistant Professor (Jul '16 - Nov '17)

Conducted classes, and laboratory sessions, and performed various research activities (e.g., writing research papers, hardware development, and results assessment).
Taught the following subjects: (i) Power Electronics and Drives, (ii) Interconnected Power Systems, (iii) Power Quality, and (iv) Renewable Energy.
Designed course Web site, led discussion sections, and maintained correspondence with graduate students.
Organized guest lecturers featuring several prominent researchers in the field of grid-integrated photovoltaic systems and electric vehicles.

ELECTRICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (ERDA) Vadodara

Research Intern (Jul '15 - Jun '16)

Investigated the performance of Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor (TCSC) operation as a Flexible AC Transmission System (e.g., FACTS).
Performed a wide variety of impact studies to examine the efficacy of the laboratory-developed prototype of the single-phase TCSC.
Conducted numerical studies in MATLABTM/Simulink simulation tool Developed an experimentation test-bed using Arduino Uno controller.
Improved the power handling capacity of the established transmission network.