Thesis:Digital Twin modelling of an IoT-Enabled PMSM Marine Propulsion Drive for Prognostics/Health

Location: Göteborg, SE, 417 15

Thesis:Digital Twin modelling of an IoT-Enabled PMSM Marine Propulsion Drive for Prognostics/Health

Location:

Göteborg, SE, 417 15

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Position Type:

Student

Transport is at the core of modern society. Imagine using your expertise to shape sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions for the future. If you seek to make a difference on a global scale, working with next-gen technologies and the sharpest collaborative teams, then we could be a perfect match.

Volvo Penta is a world-leading supplier of engines and complete power trains for marine and industrial applications. Volvo Penta has developed global leadership and is one of the industry’s strongest brands.

What you will do

At Volvo Penta you will be part of a fantastic team that develops and verifies our next generation of concepts and products. This master thesis- emerging motor drive topologies for electric propulsion is based at our e-mobility department where you will be working as part of the Motor Drive Systems (MDS) team. This fantastic team takes care of driveline components - motors and drive, develops HW and SW architecture, driving optimal system integration.

Background:

Permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drives are increasingly attractive for electric and hybrid-electric marine propulsion because of their high efficiency, compact construction and excellent variable-speed performance. Reliability is particularly important in marine propulsion because deterioration or failure of the propulsion motor, inverter, sensors or cooling system may reduce propulsion capability and vessel availability. Modern motor drives contain numerous sensors and controller measurements, including phase currents, voltages, speed, estimates and temperatures. Through an Internet of Things (IoT) architecture, selected measurements can be transmitted from the local propulsion drive to a monitoring platform where the health of the propulsion system can be continuously assessed. Additionally, digital twin - a mathematical model representing the expected healthy behavior of the PMSM drive operates in parallel with the physical system. Deviations between the physical system and digital twin can indicate developing degradation. The combination of IoT-based data acquisition, digital-twin modelling, condition monitoring and degradation trending can therefore provide the foundation for predictive maintenance.

Who are you?

Thesis Scope/Objectives:

The complete project will develop PMSM motor drive models using MATLAB, Simulink and Simscape Electrical. Marine propulsion will be used as the principal application case.

Which electrical, mechanical and thermal measurements are most useful for IoT-based monitoring of PMSM-drive degradation?

Can residuals between the physical PMSM drive and its digital twin provide earlier indication of degradation than conventional alarm thresholds?

Can degradation trends be used to generate a useful health indicator and predict when maintenance intervention will be required?

How can the IoT/digital-twin architecture be implemented without compromising the independent operation of safety-critical local PMSM control in a marine propulsion application?

Input:

Motor and power electronic inverter specifications during start of project

Marine propulsion system/Driveline information

Typical drive cycles in Marine propulsion

Outcomes:

PMSM digital twin model that can predict healthy propulsion-system behavior over a defined operating envelope. Selected electrical and mechanical parameters can identify motor-drive deterioration before conventional protection thresholds are reached.

Multi-variable digital-twin monitoring can distinguish machine degradation from normal variations in propulsion loading more effectively than simple single-signal alarm thresholds.

Communication latency or loss may degrade remote monitoring capability without necessarily compromising basic propulsion operation.

Fields of study

Electrical and Electronics Engineering​

Electric Machines and Drives, Power Electronics

Motor Control, Sensor Technology

Engineering physics, Machine learning, AI & IoT

Tools: Matlab / Simulink / Simscape

Participants: 1-2 M.Sc. students

Industrial supervisor: Rathna Chitroju (Volvo Penta AB), [email protected]

Recruiting Manager: Steven Flower, Manager, Motor Drive Systems

[email protected]

The period is one semester, 30 ECTS, and the preferred start time is between January - February 2026. The work will be conducted in Gothenburg at Volvo Group Penta Technology 2-3 days per week.

Last application date: October 30

What’s in it for you?

A great working environment at Lundby facilities.​

We work as a team and support each other; we have flexible working environment and focus on a positive work life balance.

We believe in and highlight our culture for personal development, build a career with true passion for engineering. ​

Our e-Mobility center truly offers a site with a view and a stimulating fast-paced quality driven engineering career.

Ready for the next move?

If you are curious to explore how we put our words into action, follow us on LinkedIn and volvogroup.com

Our focus on Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity allows each of us the opportunity to bring our full authentic self to work and thrive by providing a safe and supportive environment, free of harassment and discrimination. We are committed to removing the barriers to entry, which is why we ask that even if you feel you may not meet every qualification in the job description, please apply and let us decide.​

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Who we are and what we believe in We are committed to shaping the future landscape of efficient, safe, and sustainable transport solutions. Fulfilling our mission creates countless career opportunities for talents across the group’s leading brands