Design and Control of Permanent Magnet Motor Drive System for Electric Vehicle Traction Applications

The interest in electric vehicles has increased rapidly over the past few years. International energy outlook report 2012 reported that more than 100,000 hybrid and all-electric vehicles sold globally, and sales figures are approximately doubling each year. And, according to the international energy

Project Title

Design and Control of Permanent Magnet Motor Drive System for Electric Vehicle Traction Applications

Project Area of Specialization

Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Project Summary

The interest in electric vehicles has increased rapidly over the past few years. International energy outlook report 2012 reported that more than 100,000 hybrid and all-electric vehicles sold globally, and sales figures are approximately doubling each year. And, according to the international energy outlook report 2015, alternative vehicle technologies are replacing conventional vehicles. These alternative vehicle technologies, that include hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), Plug-in HEVs (PHEVs), and Electric Vehicles (EVs), have gained popularity because of their advantages, such as more environmentally friendly, less noisy and more efficient. Many automobile manufacturers like Nissan, Tesla, Chevrolet, BMW, VW, Audi, Volvo and Mercedes have at this point developed and commercialized their first modern electric models, proving that the electric drive is technically viable, environmentally friendly and affordable. 

The system architecture of EV is shown in Fig.1.1. There are two main parts in an EV, the Battery and Traction Motor. The Battery is the only source of energy in an EV. The Battery Management System (BMS) continuously monitor the cells inside the battery and it makes sure the battery is operated in the safest conditions. EVs may have on-board chargers or off-board chargers. Traction Motor is responsible for moving the vehicle. There is a Traction Motor Driver that is actually an inverter that generates a rotating magnetic field in the motor. Because of the interaction of the stator and rotor magnetic fields, the rotor rotates at certain revolutions per minute (RPM).

Fig.  1.1. The system architecture of HEV and EV

There are different types of motors like Induction Motor, Switched Reluctance Motor and Permanent-Magnet Motor. Permanent magnet motor offers the highest efficiency and highest power density. Because of these advantages, they are used in small EVs. All these motors are driven by inverters generating AC currents. 

The Motor Drive system consists of Power-stage connected to the battery and Control System. The Power-Stage is made up of Semiconductor switches that energize the poles inside the motor in a special sequence. Because of this action, the rotor in the motor rotates in a controlled fashion. The speed of the vehicle depends on this fundamental frequency. To increase the speed of the vehicle, the frequency is increased and vice versa. The embedded system inside the Drive systems is responsible for turning ON and OFF the switches in the desired sequence.

The traction system of an EV consists of a traction motor, its driving system and the gears system as shown in Fig 1.2.

Fig 1.2.  A high-level Electric Vehicle Traction System

Project Objectives

The goal of this project is to design a permanent magnet motor drive system for EV applications. The proposed project will mainly focus on the following objectives:

1. Develop a traction system for Permanent Magnet Motors.
2. The proposed traction system will have both speed control and torque control modes.
3. There will be closed-loop controls with both hardware and software protections.

Project Implementation Method

This project will be implemented in the following steps.

1. First a simulation model will be built in Proteus and PSIM to select the topology and to validate the design.

2. Then, a loss model will be developed for the system to predict the efficiency and optimal operating range of the system.

3. The small-signal model of the inverter will be derived. This model will be used to design the speed loop compensator and torque loop compensator. 

4. Hardware components will be chosen and will be procured for the system.

5. A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) will be designed and fabricated for the power stage.

6. The components will be soldered on the PCB boards to build them.

7. The PCB will be tested at Low-Voltage and Low-Power with power supply and dummy load.

8. The PCB will be tested at rated voltage and full-power with power supply and dummy load.

9. The PCB will be tested at Low-Voltage and Low-Power with battery and dummy load.

10. The PCB will be tested at rated voltage and full-power with battery and dummy load.

11. The PCB will be tested at Low-Voltage and Low-Power with battery and motor load.

12. The PCB will be tested at rated voltage and full-power with battery and motor load.

13. To reduce the size and cost of the system, the voltage and current measuring sensors are designed.

14. The system is tested with the indigenously designed sensors. 

15. The system is tested in the electric bike.

Benefits of the Project

To reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and to reduce environmental pollution, many countries including Pakistan is trying to develop electric vehicles like electric-bikes, electric-rickshaws and electric-cars. These electric vehicles have electric motors that need to be driven off the energy stored in the batteries. These motor drives are an essential part of every electric vehicle. Currently, these chargers are not developed in Pakistan. Now, these motor drives are developed locally, it will reduce the cost as well as it will save the foreign exchange. 

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The final deliverables are both Hardware and Software. 

A. Hardware deliverables:

    1. Voltage Sensor

    2. Current Sensor

    3. Speed sensor 

    4. Temperature sensors

    5. Printed Circuit boards

    6. Microcontroller

    7. Permanent Magnet (PM) Motor

B. Software:

    1. Firmware in Microcontrollers

Final Deliverable of the Project

Hardware System

Core Industry

Transportation

Other Industries

Energy

Core Technology

Artificial Intelligence(AI)

Other Technologies

Clean Tech

Sustainable Development Goals

Affordable and Clean Energy, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Climate Action

Required Resources

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