Power electronics and power transmission is a brand-new specialty, which is an interdisciplinary subject of power, electricity and control, involving comprehensive knowledge such as circuit topology, automation theory, analog and digital electricity, etc. Practical ability and practical experience determine the success or failure of the project to a certain extent. After graduation, students majoring in power electronics generally enter enterprises or research institutes, such as the world's top power electronics companies, such as Emerson, GE, Siemens, ABB, Philips and OSRAM. Of course, there are many domestic companies, which generally do switching power supply, UPS, frequency converter, reactive power compensation and active filtering. To sum up, if you want to have a good iron rice bowl, at least now, learn electric power system; If you want to engage in the sunrise industry with cutting-edge challenges and are not afraid of hardship, I hope you can learn power electronics and power transmission after your efforts. If you haven't worked part-time in a power company after studying power system for three to five years, the salary at that time may not be as good as that of students engaged in power electronics.
This is a brand-new subject. Most teachers in China are electrical engineers, so they may not be able to provide practical guidance. However, the importance of tutors is that they can provide you with vast research resources and guide you into this subject. There are still some schools with strong disciplines in China: the first one is undeniably Zhejiang University, Xu Dehong, Qian Lighting, etc. The second is Jiao Tong University, a respected teacher, Wang Zhaoan, and his two colleagues, high flyers, Liu Jinjun and Yang Xu. The last one is Yan Yangon of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and his student Ruan Xinbo. The best school in the world is, of course, Professor Fred of the National Power Electronic System Research Center of the University of Virginia. Lee Fred C. Lee is here. Of course, coronado University in the United States is not weak, especially in the direction of digital control of power electronics. Eriksson, the author of the famous textbook Fundamentals of Power Electronics, is a leading figure here. Students who are interested in studying power electronics abroad can apply for these two schools.
But unfortunately, power electronics is only a technology at present, and it can't be called a scientific discipline, because it hasn't formed a complete and accurate theoretical basis. Because there is no deep theoretical foundation, it cannot be called science. At present, this subject is mainly engaged in the research of circuit topology and application technology, and the current theoretical basis is linear control method and circuit engineering. However, power electronics should not be regarded as a linear system, because power devices work in the switching state, which is a strongly ill-conditioned nonlinear system. Therefore, it can be said that the current power electronic system based on linear control theory is completely inadequate, and even some wrong conclusions will be drawn in some occasions.
At present, there are several research directions of power electronics technology: high-frequency switching power supply technology: all information systems and communication equipment need to use switching power supply, from various portable digital products to various popular flat-panel TVs, from server systems, communication base station rooms, and various aviation facilities; The application of power electronics technology in power system, such as various harmonic compensation and active filter devices, and the continuous development of uninterruptible power supply equipment (UPS), the drive and control system of electric vehicles, and the energy-saving drive of motors, such as various frequency converters (including variable frequency air conditioners). In the current situation of energy shortage, power electronics technology is the most critical technical factor for the application of solar energy, wind energy and various renewable energy sources. You can learn about this topic from some professional journals, such as China Journal of Electrotechnics, Journal of Electrotechnics, Journal of Power Electronics Technology and China Journal of Electrotechnics, Power Electronics World of IEEE, APEC and PESC meetings of IEEE, etc.
According to the practical research and development experience of switching power supply for many years, I think the basis of this direction is: first, control theory; The second place is circuit knowledge; The third is also a very important analog electronics. Of course, the digital control of power electronics is a very important development direction now, and the digital control technology of single chip microcomputer and DSP will also occupy a very important position. But in reality, for many people engaged in power electronics research and development, it is not enough to learn a "power electronics technology" because the control loop design of power electronics system is difficult to understand; People who study control can't start, because they probably don't know how to combine control with circuit topology, or even understand the working principle of the circuit at all. In fact, what this discipline lacks most is interdisciplinary talents, and many people who engage in control don't know much about electronic and electrical theory; Engaged in electronic and electrical, do not understand the control foundation, do not understand the numerical control technology.
In addition, a more important problem is that power electronics is a practical subject. Nowadays, college teachers or graduates are too divorced from theory and practice, not to mention whether they know a little bit of in-depth basic theory. The first step should be to imitate other people's products, then measure the actual working waveforms of each point, and then study how to explain various experimental phenomena with control and circuit knowledge. Slowly, it is possible to become an expert in this field. Therefore, if brothers and sisters can sit on the bench for many years, I believe there will be a glorious day in the near future.
Power electronics and motion control technology can be regarded as the second major technological change after computer technology, which will greatly change human energy and life. However, due to the lack of basic theory at present, China is likely to catch up with the world development level as soon as possible. I believe that in the near future, young people with innovation and keen vision in China will occupy a certain theoretical and technical position in this discipline.