Credit: UT Arlington
David Wetz, professor of electrical engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington, has received a $424,618 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) grant from the Office of Naval Research to purchase equipment for studying materials at high voltages.
The equipment will be used in support of a grant he received in August from the Naval Surface War Center-Dahlgren Division (NSWC-DD) to study the high-voltage dielectric insulation properties of epoxy and additively manufactured materials. Dielectric materials can transmit electric force without conduction.
Wetz is working with the Navy team to investigate how these solid materials can be dielectrically altered to improve their insulation properties in compact high-voltage systems. There is a desire to replace traditional oil dielectrics with solid materials that are easier to work with and that have potential for reducing overall system size and weight.