Thesis work Fault current simulations in DC power systems

At ABB, we help industries outrun - leaner and cleaner. Here, progress is an expectation - for you, your team, and the world. As a global market leader, we’ll give you what you need to make it happen. It won’t always be easy, growing takes grit. But at ABB, you’ll never run alone. Run what runs the world.

This Position reports to:

R&D Team Lead

Your role and responsibilities

With the increase of both DC energy production and DC energy consumption, the interest in DC systems for electric power distribution is increasing. The behavior of the system when a fault occurs will differ fundamentally depending on the design of the system, e.g. voltage level, presence of energy storage, and how the system is fed. For a safe operation, the energy dissipated into faulty equipment needs to be known and possibly limited to acceptable values to minimize damage to the equipment and people.

Details:

The work will be conducted as a master thesis (30 hp) during the spring 2027 at ABB Corporate Research facilities in Västerås, Sweden, with proposed start in January.

Tasks

The proposed master thesis will aim to, in a structured way, evaluate the behavior and fault currents in a DC network and the dependence on how the network is designed and powered. The work will be based on electric system simulations in suitable software, e.g. PSCAD or Simulink/Simscape.

• Summarize the state of the art and currently ongoing activities in the field
• Summarize possible converter topologies for feeding a DC network
• Evaluate fault current shapes and levels with different converters and control
• Evaluate the requirements for current limitation or interruption where necessary

Preferred background

• Master’s program in Electrical engineering or Electrical power systems or similar
• Curious and interested in the subject of future power systems
• Experience in electrical simulations, e.g. Simscape or PSCAD
• Knowledge in power converters or power electronics is a benefit

More about us

Jesper Magnusson, ABB Västerås, [email protected]

Elisabeth Lindell, ABB Västerås, [email protected]

A future opportunity

This role is part of our talent pipeline, which means it’s not currently open, but we’re always looking for curious minds, bold thinkers, and people who want to make an impact.

Click Apply to express your interest and be considered for future opportunities that match your experience and aspirations.

At ABB, we welcome people from all backgrounds and believe that diverse perspectives help us build a cleaner, smarter future.

Apply today or visit https://www.abb.com to learn more about how we help run what runs the world.