Electrical and Hybrid Vehicle

3170923

III. Electric Drive Trains

3.1 Basic concept of electric traction

A modern electric drive train is conceptually illustrated in Figure 1. The

drive train consists of three major subsystems: electric motor propulsion,
energy source, and auxiliary. The electric propulsion subsystem comprises
the vehicle controller, power electronic converter, electric motor, mechanical
transmission, and driving wheels. The energy source subsystem involves the
energy source, the energy management unit, and the energy refueling unit.
The auxiliary subsystem consists of the power steering unit, the hotel
climate control unit, and the auxiliary supply unit. Based on the control
inputs from the accelerator and brake pedals, the vehicle controller provides
proper control signals to the electronic power converter, which functions to
regulate the power flow between the electric motor and energy source.

Figure 1 Conceptual illustration of general EV configuration

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 The backward power flow is due to the regenerative braking of the EV
and this regenerated energy can be restored into the energy source,
provided the energy source is receptive. Most EV batteries as well as
ultracapacitors and flywheels readily posses the ability to accept
regenerative energy. The energy management unit cooperates with the
vehicle controller to control the regenerative braking and its energy
recovery. It also works with the energy refueling unit to control the refueling
unit and to monitor the usability of the energy source. The auxiliary power
supply provides the necessary power with different voltage levels for all the
EV auxiliaries, especially the air conditioning (Climate control unit) and
power steering units.
3.1.1 Introduction to various electric drive-train topologies
There are a variety of possible EV configurations due to the variations
in electric propulsion characteristics and energy sources, as shown in Figure
2.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)
Figure 2 Possible EV configurations

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  Figure 2.(a) shows the configuration of the first alternative, in which an
electric propulsion replaces the IC engine of a conventional vehicle
drive train. It consists of an electric motor, a clutch, a gearbox, and a
differential. The clutch and gearbox may be replaced by an automatic
transmission. The clutch is used to connect or disconnect the power of
the electric motor from the driven wheels. The gearbox provides a set
of gear ratios to modify the speed-power (torque) profile to match the
load requirement.
 Figure 2.(b) : With an electric motor that has constant power in a long
speed range, a fixed gearing can replace the multispeed gearbox and
reduce the need for a clutch. This configuration not only reduces the
size and weight of the mechanical transmission, it also simplifies the
drive train control because gear shifting is not needed.
 Figure 2.(c) : the electric motor, the fixed gearing, and the differential
can be further integrated into a single assembly while both axles point
at both driving wheels. The whole drive train is further simplified and
compacted.
 Figure 2.(d) : the mechanical differential is replaced by using two
traction motors. Each of them drives one side wheel and operates at a
different speed when the vehicle is running along a curved path.
 Figure 2.(e) : In order to further simplify the drive train, the traction
motor can be placed inside a wheel. This arrangement is the so-called
in-wheel drive. A thin planetary gear set may be employed to reduce
the motor speed and enhance the motor torque. The thin planetary
gear set offers the advantage of a high-speed reduction ratio as well as
an inline arrangement of the input and output shaft.
 Figure 2.(f) : By fully abandoning any mechanical gearing between the
electric motor and the driving wheel, the out-rotor of a low-speed
electric motor in the in-wheel drive can be directly connected to the
driving wheel. The speed control of the electric motor is equivalent to
the control of the wheel speed and hence the vehicle speed. However,
this arrangement requires the electric motor to have a higher torque,
to start and accelerate the vehicle.

3.2 Power flow control in electric drive-train topologies

The power flows in a battery electric vehicle are shown in Figure 3. Due
to the variations in HEV configurations, different power control strategies are
necessary to regulate the power flow to or from different components. All the
control strategies aim satisfy the following goals:
 Maximum fuel efficiency
 Minimum emissions
 Minimum system costs

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  Good driving performance

Figure 3 Power flow in battery-powered electric vehicle

3.3 Electric Propulsion unit

 Electric propulsion systems are at the heart of EVs and HEVs.
They consist of electric motors, power converters, and electronic
controllers.
 The electric motor converts the electric energy into mechanical
energy to propel the vehicle, or vice versa, to enable
regenerative braking and/or to generate electricity for charging
the on-board energy storage.
 The power converter is used to supply the electric motor with
proper voltage and current. The electronic controller commands
the power converter by providing control signals to it, and then it
controls the operation of the electric motor to produce proper
torque and speed, according to the command from the driver.
o The electronic controller can be further divided into three
functional units—sensor, interface circuitry, and processor.
 The functional block diagram of an electric propulsion system is
illustrated in Figure 4.

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 Figure 4 Functional block diagram

3.3.1 BATTERY
Hybrid Electric Vehicle uses battery as one of its power sources
for vehicle motion during at low power conditions. Batteries are
devices that consist of electrochemical cells and provide electrical
energy converted from stored chemical energy. There are six major
rechargeable batteries available today,
 lead-acid (Pbacid)
 nickel-cadmium (NiCd)
 nickel-metal hydride (NiMH)
 lithium-ion (Li-ion)
 lithiumpolymer (Li-poly)
 zinc-air
3.3.2 THREE PHASE INVERTER
In a three phase voltage source inverter bridge, controlled
switching with the help of IGBT is used to control voltage in normal
operation, and a parallel diode is connected to make the inverter

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bidirectional in nature. AC voltage is obtained by switching the IGBT
switches in a specific pattern to obtain bipolar square two level
waveform.
3.3.3 ELECTRIC MOTOR
The motor drives for EVs and HEVs can be classified into two main
groups, commutator motors and commutator-less motors, as
illustrated in Figure 5. Commutator motors mainly are the traditional
DC motors, which include series-excited, shunt-excited, compound-
excited, separately excited, and permanent magnet (PM)-excited
motors.
 DC motors need commutators and brushes to feed current into
the armature, making them less reliable and unsuitable for
maintenance-free operation and high speed. In addition, winding-
excited DC motors have low specific power density. Nevertheless,
because of their mature technology and simple control, DC motor
drives have been prominent in electric propulsion systems.
 Technological developments have recently pushed commutator-
less electric motors into a new era. Advantages include higher
efficiency, higher power density, and lower operating cost. They
are also more reliable and maintenance-free compared to
commutator DC motors; thus, commutator-less electric motors
have now become more attractive.

Figure 5 Classification of electric motor drives

 Induction motors are widely accepted as a commutatorless motor

type for EV and HEV propulsion. This is because of their low cost,
high reliability, and maintenance-free operation. However,
conventional control of induction motors such as variable voltage,
variable frequency cannot provide the desired performance.

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 o With the advent of the power electronics and
microcomputer era, the principle of field-oriented control
(FOC) or vector control of induction motors has been
accepted to overcome their control complexity due to their
nonlinearity.
o However, these EV and HEV motors using FOC still suffer
from low efficiency at light loads and a limited constant-
power operating range.
 By replacing the field winding of conventional synchronous
motors with PMs, PM synchronous motors can eliminate
conventional brushes, slip rings, and field copper losses.
o These PM synchronous motors are also called PM brushless
AC motors, or sinusoidal-fed PM brushless motors, because
of their sinusoidal AC current and brushless configuration.
 Since these motors are essentially synchronous motors, they can
run from a sinusoidal or pulse width modulation (PWM) supply
without electronic commutation.
 When PMs are mounted on the rotor surface, they behave as non-
salient synchronous motors because the permeability of PMs is
similar to that of air. With those PMs buried inside the magnetic
circuit of the rotor, the saliency causes an additional reluctance
torque, which leads to facilitating a wider speed range at
constant power operation.
 Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) have been recognized to
have considerable potential for EV and HEV applications.
Basically, they are direct derivatives of single-stack, variable
reluctance stepping motors.
o SRMs have definite advantages of simple construction, low
manufacturing cost, and outstanding torque–speed
characteristics for EV and HEV applications.
o Although they possess simplicity in construction, this does
not imply any simplicity of their design and control. Because
of the heavy saturation of pole tips and the fringe effect of
pole and slots, their design and control are difficult and
subtle.
3.3.4 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE (ICE)
An ICE in a hybrid vehicle is required to produce electricity or
hydraulic pressure depending on the drive train technology (traction
motors) deployed. The exception are the serial hybrids. They need to

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have some of the traditional characteristics intact as the engine is
required to supplement the electric traction motors in driving the
vehicle and in some applications drive the vehicle fully without electric
assistance. This means the engine is not the only source of power and
therefore can be smaller and driven, when it is powered on, in its most
efficient operations range. All the variability needed due to terrain or
traffic can be handled by the traction motors.

3.3.5 TORQUE CONVERTER

The torque converter is a fluid coupling device that is used to
transmit motion from the engine to the transmission input shaft. It is
capable of multiplying the engine torque (acting as a reduction gear),
and, unlike most other mechanical joints, provides extremely high
damping capabilities, since all torque is transmitted through fluid
dynamic forces rather than friction or pressure. It is traditionally used
in vehicles with automatic transmissions as a launching device,
because it allows for large speed differences between its two shafts
while multiplying the input torque.

Figure 6 Schematic representation of a torque converter

3.3.6 GEAR RATIOS AND MECHANICAL GEARBOX

Gearings are purely mechanical components, with no control, that
change the speed and torque transmitted between two shafts without
altering the power flow. In practice, however, losses due to friction occur and
reduce the output power with respect to the input power.

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 Figure 7 Schematic representation of a gear coupling

3.3.7 PLANETARY GEAR SETS

Planetary gear sets are composed by three rotating elements (sun,
carrier, and ring) which are connected by internal gears (planets); stopping
one of the three shafts generates a fixed gear ratio between the remaining
two. Planetary gears are commonly used in traditional automatic
transmissions because they allow for compact construction and smooth gear
transition. They are often present in hybrid electric vehicles to realize
electrically variable transmissions (EVTs) by connecting the engine and two
electric machines to the three shafts of the gear set.

Figure 8 Schematic representation of planetary gear set

3.3.8 WHEELS, BRAKES, AND TIRES

The wheel represents the link between the powertrain and the external
environment. Its model includes the motion of the wheel and the effect of
the brakes, calculating the forces at the interface between tire and road
surface. The tractive force is calculated given the powertrain torque, the
brake signal and the vertical load on the wheel.
Engine Accessories and Auxiliary Loads
The engine powers several auxiliaries, such as air conditioning, power
steering, alternator for small electric loads, etc.

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3.4 Configuration of DC Motor drives
3.4.1 Principle of Operation
When a wire carrying electric current is placed into a magnetic field, a
magnetic force acting on the wire is produced. The force is perpendicular to
the wire and the magnetic field, as shown in Figure 9.
 The magnetic force is proportional to the wire length, magnitude of
the electric current, and the density of the magnetic field, that is,
(1)

 When the wire is shaped into a coil, as shown in Figure 9, the

magnetic forces acting on both sides produce a torque, which is
expressed as,
(2)

 where α is the angle between the coil plane and the magnetic field,
as shown in Figure 9.
The DC machines have two sets of windings, one in the rotor and the
other in the stator, which establish the two fluxes; hence, the mmfs that
interact with each other produce the torque. The orthogonality of the two
mmfs, which is essential for maximum torque production, is maintained by a
set of mechanical components called commutators and brushes.

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 Figure 9 Operation principle of a DC motor

 To obtain continuous and maximum torque, slip rings and brushes are
used to conduct each coil at a position of α = 0.
 The armature windings carry the bulk of the current, while the field
windings carry a small field excitation current.
 The armature and the field currents in the respective windings establish
the armature and field mmfs.
 The magnitude of the mmfs is the product of the number of turns in the
windings and the current.
 Depending on the number of supply sources and the type of connection
between the armature and field windings, there can be several types of
DC machines as shown in Figure 10.

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 a. Separately Excited b. Shunt

c. Series d. Cumulative compound

Figure 10 Wound-field DC motors

A speed–torque characteristic of DC motor is shown in Figure 11.

 In series motor, any increase in torque is  However, series DC
accompanied by an increase in the armature motors are not
current and, therefore, an increase in allowed to operate
magnetic flux. without the load
 Because flux increases with the torque, the torque with full
speed drops to maintain a balance between supply voltage.
the induced voltage and the supply voltage.  Otherwise, their
 At heavy torque (large current) overload, the speed quickly
magnetic circuit saturates, and the speed– increases up to a
torque curve approaches a straight line. very high value.
 Series DC motors are suitable for  Also regenerative
applications requiring high starting torque braking is very
and heavy torque overload, such as traction. difficult.

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 Figure 11 Speed characteristics of DC motors

Positive attributes of DC machines are as follows:

• Ease of control due to linearity
• Capability for independent torque and flux control
• Established manufacturing technology
Disadvantages of DC machines include the following:
• Brush wear that leads to high maintenance
• Low maximum speed
• EMI due to commutator action
• Low power-to-weight ratio
• Low efficiency
3.4.2 Control of DC Motor drives
Combined Armature Voltage and Field Control

The independence of armature voltage and field provides more flexible

control of the speed and torque than other types of DC motors. The
combination of armature voltage and field control method is shown in Figure
12.
 In EV and HEV applications, the most desirable speed–torque
characteristic is to have a constant torque below a certain speed
(base speed) and a constant power in a speed range above the base
speed, as shown in Figure 13.
 In a speed range lower than the base speed, the armature current
and field are set at their rated values, producing the rated torque.

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  At the base speed, the armature voltage reaches its rated value
(equal to the source voltage) and cannot be increased further.

Field DC/DC
converter

Motor
FF
EV Battery A
Pack AA

Armature DC/
DC converter

Figure 12 Combined Armature Voltage and Field Control

 To further increase the speed, the field must be weakened with the
increase in speed, then the back EMF and armature current
constant maintained.
 The torque produces drops parabolically with the increase in speed,
and the output power remains constant, as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13 Torque and power limitations in combined armature voltage and field control

Chopper Control of DC Motors

 Advantages : high efficiency, flexibility in control, light weight, small

size, quick response, and regeneration down to very low speeds.

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  For a DC motor control in open-loop and closed-loop configurations, the
chopper offers many advantages due to the high operation frequency :
results in high-frequency output voltage ripple and, therefore, fewer
ripples in the motor armature current and a smaller region of
discontinuous conduction in the speed–torque plane.
 A reduction in the armature current ripple reduces the armature
losses. A reduction or elimination of the discontinuous conduction
region improves speed regulation and transient response of the drive.
The power electronic circuit and the steady-state waveform of a DC chopper
drive are shown in Figure 14.
 A DC voltage source, V, supplies an inductive load through a self-
commutated semiconductor switch S.
 A diode DF is connected in parallel with the load.
 The switch S is operated periodically over a period T and remains
closed for a time ton = δT with 0<δ<1. The variable δ = t on/T is called
the duty ratio or duty cycle of a chopper.
 Control signal ic will be
o the base current if transistor used,
o the gate current if GTO used, and
o the source voltage if MOSFET used for switch.

(b)

(c)
(a)

(d)

(e)

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Figure 14 Principle of operation of a step-down (or class A) chopper: (a) basic chopper circuit and (b)–
(e) waveforms

 When a control signal is present, the semiconductor switch S will

conduct, if it is forward biased.
 It is assumed that the circuit operation has been arranged such that
the removal of ic will turn off the switch.
 During the on interval of the switch (0 ≤ t ≤ δT), the load is subjected
to a voltage V, and the load current increases from i a1 to ia2.
 The switch is opened at t = δT. During the off period of the switch (δT
≤ t ≤ 1), the load inductance maintains the flow of current through
diode DF.
 The load terminal voltage stays zero, and the current decreases from
ia2 to ia1.
 The interval 0 ≤ t ≤ δT is called the duty interval, and the interval δT
≤ t ≤ T is known as the freewheeling interval.
 Diode DF provides a path for the load current to flow when switch S is
off and thus improves the load current waveform.
 Furthermore, by maintaining the continuity of the load current at turn-
off, it prevents transient voltage from appearing across switch S due to
the sudden change of the load current.
 The source current flows only during the duty interval and is equal to
the load current.

The direct component or average value of the load voltage V a is given by,

(3)
By controlling δ between 0 and 1, the load voltage can be varied from 0 to V;
thus, a chopper allows a variable DC voltage to be obtained from a fixed
voltage DC source.
Control Methods

The switch S can be controlled in various ways for varying the duty
ratio δ. The control technologies can be divided into two categories:
1. Time ratio control (TRC).

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 a. Constant-frequency TRC : The chopper period T is kept fixed, and
the on period of the switch is varied to control the duty ratio δ.
b. Variable-frequency TRC : Here, δ is varied either by keeping ton
constant and varying T or by varying both ton and T.
2. Current limit control (CLC).

In variable- Also, the In CLC, δ is When the load

frequency operation with controlled current reaches
control, low- variable indirectly by a specified
output voltage is frequencies controlling the maximum value,
obtained at makes the load current the switch
very low chopper design of an between certain disconnects the
frequencies. input filter very specified load from the
difficult. maximum and source
At low minimum values. and reconnects
frequencies the So, variable- it when the
motor frequency current reaches
performance is control is rarely a specified
affected. used. minimum value.

So, CLC is widely

used.
Different Types of Choppers

The application of DC motors on

EVs and HEVs requires the motors to
operate in multiquadrants, including
forward motoring, forward braking,
backward motoring, and backward
braking, as shown in Fig 15. For
vehicles with reverse mechanical
gears, two-quadrant operation
(forward motoring and forward
braking, or quadrant I and quadrant
IV) is required. However, for vehicles Figure 15 Speed–torque profiles of a
without reverse mechanical gears, multiquadrant operation

four-quadrant operation is needed.

Step-up chopper (Class B)

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Forward motoring and regenerative braking

Two-quadrant chopper (Class C)

Four-quadrant chopper (Class E)

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3.5 Configuration and control of Induction Motor drives
The induction motor is widely accepted as a propulsion motor in
HEV/EV applications due to lower cost, less maintenance, and longer lifetime.
Since induction motors require an AC supply, they might seem unsuitable for
the DC source of HEV/EV applications; however, nowadays AC can be easily
inverted from a DC source with modern power electronics. The two common
types of induction motor are based on the rotor structure: wound and
squirrel cage. Three-phase squirrel cage induction motors are normally used
in the lower end HEV/EV systems due to their rigidity and construction
simplicity.
3.5.1 Basic Principle of AC Induction Motor Operation

(a) (b)
Figure 16. a) Cross section of induction motor, b) Typical structure of squirrel cage rotor

A cross section of a two-pole induction motor is shown in Figure 16 (a). Slots

in the inner periphery of the stator are inserted with three phase windings,
a–a′, b–b′, and c–c′. The turns of each winding are distributed such that the

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current in the winding produces an approximate sinusoidally distributed flux
density around the periphery of the air gap. The three windings are spatially
arranged by 120o. A typical squirrel cage rotor consists of a series of
conductive bars welded together at either end forming the short-circuit
windings shown in Figure 16 (b).
 Figure 17 shows, schematically, a cross section of the stator of a three-
phase, two-pole induction motor.
 Each phase is fed with a sinusoidal AC current, which has a frequency
of ω and a 120o phase difference between each other. Current i as, ibs,
and ics in the three stator coils a–a′, b–b′, and c–c′ produce alternative
magnetic motive forces (mmfs), F as, Fbs, and Fcs, which are space
vectors.
 The resultant stator mmf vector F ss constitutes a vector sum of the
phase mmf vectors.

Figure 17 Induction motor stator and stator winding current: a) spatially symmetric three-phase stator
windings and b) Phase currents.

The mmfs produced by the phase currents can be written as:

(4)
(5)
(6)
The resultant stator mmf vector,

(7)

Assuming that the magnitudes of the three-phase mmfs are identical, equal
to Fs, eqn.(7) becomes,

(8)

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Eqn.(8) indicates that the resultant stator mmf vector is rotating with the
frequency of the angle velocity of ω, and its magnitude is 3/2F s.

Figure 18 Torque–slip characteristics of an induction motor with fixed stator frequency and voltage

Controls of AC Induction Motor

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 Figure 19 DC/AC inverter with sinusoidal pulse-width modulation: (a) inverter topology; (b) control
signals; (c) three-phase (d) voltage of phase a; (e) voltage of phase b; and (f) voltage of phase c.

 Change Number of Poles - Since the synchronous speed of the

rotating magnetic field is determined by the number of poles of the
induction motor, the speed of an induction motor can be changed by
varying the number of magnetic poles by physically reorganizing the
stator windings. This method is generally suitable for applications in
which two constant-speed settings are needed.
 Change Magnitude of Supplied Voltage - The developed torque
will be decreased when the supplied voltage is reduced so the motor
speed will be decreased. This method is normally applied to fan or
pump loads as their required torque is also reduced as the speed
decreases.
 Combined Torque and Speed Control - By Adjusting Supply Voltage
and Frequency this method can be achieved. This control method
makes use of power electronic switches to achieve the desired motor
torque to meet the load torque requirement. It is also called as vector
control, provides independent control of the air-gap flux and torque so
that a squirrel cage induction motor can be driven as a DC motor.

As EV and HEV propulsion, an induction motor drive is usually fed with a

DC source (e.g., battery, fuel cell), which has approximately constant
terminal voltage. Thus, a variable frequency and variable-voltage DC/AC
inverter is needed to feed the induction motor. A general DC/AC inverter is
constituted by power electronic switches and power diodes. The commonly
used topology of a DC/AC inverter is shown in Figure 19 (a),which has three
legs (S1 and S4, S3 and S6, and S5 and S2), feeding phases a, b, and c of the
induction motor.

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 When switches S1, S3, and S5 are closed, S4, S6, and S2 are opened, and
phases a, b, and c are supplied with a positive voltage (V d/2). Similarly, when
S1, S3, and S5 are opened, S4, S6, and S2 are closed, phases a, b, and c are
supplied with a negative voltage. All the diodes provide a path for the
reverse current of each phase.
3.5.2 Constant Volt/Hertz Control

The speed of an induction motor can be easily controlled by varying

the frequency of the 3-phase supply; however, to maintain a constant (rated)
flux density, the applied voltage must also be changed in the same
proportion as the frequency (as dictated by Faraday’s law). This speed
control method is known as Volts per Hz. Above rated speed, the applied
voltage is usually kept constant at rated value; this operation is referred to
as constant HP. At low frequencies (i.e. speeds), the voltage must be boosted
in order to compensate for the effects of the stator resistance.

Figure 20 General configuration of constant V/f control

For constant volt/hertz control of an induction motor, sinusoidal pulse

width modulation (PWM) is used exclusively. Three-phase reference voltages
Va, Vb, and Vc of variable amplitudes Aa, Ab, and Ac are compared with a
common isosceles triangular carrier wave V tr of a fixed amplitude Am, as
shown in Figure 19 (c). The outputs of comparators 1, 2, and 3 form the
control signals for the three legs of the inverter. When the sinusoidal
reference voltages Va, Vb, and Vc at a time t are greater than the triangular

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waved voltage, turn-on signals are sent to the switches S1, S3, and S5 and
turn-off signals to S4, S6, and S6. Thus, the three phases of the induction
motor have a positive voltage. On the other hand, when the reference
sinusoidal voltage is smaller than the triangular wave voltage, turn-on
signals are sent to switches S 1, S3, and S5 and turn-off signals to S4, S6, and
S2. The three phases of the induction motor then have a negative voltage.
Field Orientation Control

The Field Orientated Control (FOC) consists of controlling the stator

currents represented by a vector. This control is based on projections which
transform a threephase time and speed dependent system into a two co-
ordinate (d and q co-ordinates) time invariant system. These projections lead
to a structure similar to that of a DC machine control. Field orientated
controlled machines need two constants as input references: the torque
component (aligned with the q co-ordinate) and the flux component (aligned
with d co-ordinate). As Field Orientated Control is simply based on
projections the control structure handles instantaneous electrical quantities.
This makes the control accurate in every working operation (steady state
and transient) and independent of the limited bandwidth mathematical
model. The following diagram, shown in Figure 21, summarizes the basic
scheme of torque control with FOC.

Figure 21 Basic scheme of FOC for AC-motor

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 Figure 22 Stationary frame three-phase (a, b, c) to two-phase orthogonal (d, q) axes transformation.

 Motor phase currents are measured.

 These measurements feed the Clarke and park transformation modules
to obtain ‘dq’ components.
 At this point, this control structure shows an interesting advantage: it
can be used to control either synchronous or induction machines by
simply changing the flux reference and obtaining rotor flux position.
 As in synchronous permanent magnet motors, the rotor flux is fixed
(determined by the magnets) there is no need to create one.
 The outputs of the current regulators are v Sdref and vSqref; they are
applied to the inverse Park transformation.
 The outputs of this projection are v Sαref and vSβref which are the
components of the stator vector voltage in the α,β stationary
orthogonal reference frame.
 These are the inputs of the Space Vector PWM. The outputs of this
block are the signals that drive the inverter.

Direct Torque Control

Direct torque control (DTC) is an emerging technique for controlling
PWM inverter-fed induction motor (IM) drives. It allows the precise and quick
control of the IM flux and torque without calling for complex control
algorithms. The basic block diagram of DTC method is shown in Figure 23.

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 Figure 23 Block diagram of DTC - Induction Motor drive

 Two motor phase currents and the DC bus voltage are measured, along
with the inverter’s switch positions. (Motor voltage is determined from
the DC bus voltage and the inverter’s switch positions.)
 Motor current and voltage are fed to the motor model, which uses
advanced mathematical algorithms to produce exact values of the
stator flux and motor torque, along with shaft speed.
 The actual torque and flux values are fed to the torque and flux
comparators, which compare them to torque and flux reference values
that are provided by the speed control loop.
 The goals of the comparators are to hold the magnitudes of the torque
and flux vectors within a narrow hysteresis band around the reference
values.
 This is a primary factor in DTC’s ability to achieve fast torque response
without overshoot.
 Torque and flux status signals are fed to the optimum pulse selector.
 The optimum pulse selector chooses the optimum voltage vector from
a lookup table and, based on this, sends pulses to the inverter’s
semiconductor switching devices to maintain or change the motor
torque as required.
 The lookup table, described in Table 1, provides the optimum voltage
vector based on three parameters: whether torque and stator flux each
need to be increased or decreased (or, for torque, held constant), and
in which sector (60 degree segment) of the space vector plane the
stator flux resides, as shown in Figure 24.

Table 1 DTC Switching Table

Cψ CT Stator Flux Sectors hθ

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 ① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥

+1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V1

+1 0 V7 V0 V7 V0 V7 V0

-1 V6 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5

+1 V3 V4 V5 V6 V1 V2

-1 0 V0 V7 V0 V7 V0 V7

-1 V5 V6 V1 V2 V3 V4

Figure 24 Stator flux vector locus & possible switching voltage vectors (FD: Flux decrease, FI: Flux
Increase, TD: Torque decrease, TI: Torque increase)

 The semiconductor switching in the inverter again determines motor

voltage and current, which determines motor torque and flux,
therefore closing the control loop.
 The speed control loop contains a speed controller (which consists of a
PID controller and an acceleration compensator), a torque reference
controller, and a flux reference controller.
 The output of the speed controller is fed to the torque reference
controller, whose output is the internal reference value for the torque
comparator in the torque control loop.
 The flux reference controller determines an absolute stator flux value
and provides this as the internal reference for the flux comparator in
the torque control loop.
 The flux reference controller is also where flux is controlled and
modified to enable inverter functions such as energy optimization and
flux braking.

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3.6 Configuration and control of Permanent Magnet Motor drives
Using high-energy PMs as the field excitation mechanism, a PM motor
drive can be potentially designed with high power density, high speed, and
high operation efficiency. These prominent advantages are quite attractive
for their application in EVs and HEVs. Of the family of PM motors, the BLDC
motor drive is the most promising candidate for EV and HEV applications.
A BLDC/PMSM motor drive consists mainly of the BLDC machine, the
digital signal processor (DSP)-based controller, and the power-electronics-
based power converter, as shown in Figure 25. Position sensors H1, H2, and
H3 sense the position of the machine rotor. The rotor position information is
fed to the DSP-based controller, which in turn supplies gating signals to the
power converter by turning on and off the proper stator pole windings of the
machine. In this way, the torque and speed of the machines are controlled.

Figure 25 BLDC motor Drive

Control of BLDC Motor Drives

In vehicle traction applications, the torque produced is required to
follow the torque desired by the driver and commanded through the
accelerator and brake pedals. Thus, torque control is the basic requirement.
Figure 27 shows a block diagram of a torque control scheme for a BLDC
motor drive.
 The desired current I* is derived from the commanded torque T*
through a torque controller.
 The current controller and the commutation sequencer receive the
desired current I*, position information from the position sensors,
and perhaps the current feedback through current transducers and
then produce gating signals.

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  These gating signals are sent to the three-phase inverter (power
converter) to produce the desired phase current to the BLDC
machine.

Figure 26 Cross-sectional view of PM rotor: (a) surface-mounted PM rotor and (b) interior-mounted PM
rotor

In traction applications, if speed control is required, the topology can be

changed as shown in Figure 28.

Figure 27 Block diagram of torque control of BLDC motor

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 Figure 28 Block diagram of speed control of BLDC motor

Many high-performance applications include current feedback for

torque control. At a minimum, a DC bus current feedback is required to
protect the drive and the machine from over-currents. The controller blocks,
“speed controller” may be any type of classical controller such as a
proportional-integral (PI) controller or a more advanced controller such as an
artificial intelligence control.
The current controller and commutation sequencer provide the
properly sequenced gating signals to the three-phase inverter while
comparing sensed currents to a reference to maintain a constant peak
current control by hysteresis (current chopping) or with a voltage source
(PWM)-type current control. Using position information, the commutation
sequencer causes the inverter to electronically commutate, acting as the
mechanical commutator of a conventional DC machine. The commutation
angle associated with a brushless motor is normally set so that the motor
commutates around the peak of the torque angle curve.
Considering a three-phase motor, connected in Delta or wye,
commutation occurs at electrical angles, which are plus or minus 30◦
(electrical) from the peaks of the torque–angle curves. When the motor
position moves beyond the peaks by an amount equal to 30◦ (electrical),
then the commutation sensors cause the stator phase excitation to switch to
move the motor suddenly to −30◦ relative to the peak of the next torque–
angle curve.
Sensorless Techniques
The operation of BLDC motor drives relies mostly on position sensors
for obtaining the rotor position information so as to properly perform the
turn-on or turn-off of each phase properly. The position sensor is usually
either a three-element Hall-effect sensor or an optical encoder. These

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position sensors are expensive, fragile elements. Thus, its presence not only
increases the cost of the motor drive but also seriously lowers its reliability
and limits its application in some environments, such as in the military.
Position sensorless technology can effectively continue the operation of a
system in case the position sensors lose their function. This is crucial in some
applications, such as military vehicles. Major techniques can be primarily
grouped as:
 Using measured currents, voltages, fundamental machine equations,
and algebraic manipulations.
 Using observers.
 Using back EMF methods.

3.7 Configuration and control of Switch Reluctance Motor drives

The SRM drive is considered an attractive candidate for variable-speed
motor drives due to its low cost, rugged structure, reliable converter
topology, high efficiency over a wide speed range, and simplicity in control.
These drives are suitable for EVs, HEV traction applications, aircraft
starter/generator systems, mining drives, washing machines, door actuators,
and so on.
 The SRM has a simple, rugged, and low-cost structure. It has no
PM or winding on the rotor.
 This structure not only reduces the cost of the SRM but also
offers high-speed operation capability for this motor.
 Unlike the induction and PM machines, the SRM is capable of
high-speed operation without the concern of mechanical failures
that result from high-level centrifugal force.
 In addition, the inverter of the SRM drive has a reliable topology.
 The stator windings are connected in series with the upper and
lower switches of the inverter. This topology can prevent the
shoot-through fault.

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 Figure 29 SRM drive system

A conventional SRM drive system consists of the SRM, power inverter,

sensors such as voltage, current, and position sensors, and control circuitry
such as the DSP controller and its peripherals, as shown in Figure 29.
Through proper control, high performance can be achieved in the SRM drive
system. The SRM drive inverter is connected to a DC power supply, which
can be derived from the utility lines through a front-end diode rectifier or
from batteries. The phase windings of the SRM are connected to the power
inverter, as shown in Figure 30. The control circuit provides a gating signal to
the switches of the inverter according to particular control strategies and the
signals from various sensors.
 When a stator phase is magnetized, a closed magnetic field is
generated between the stator, the air gap and the rotor.
 This magnetic field tends to minimize the reluctance by reducing the
air gap which creates a rotor movement.
 When a stator pole is aligned with a rotor pole, it is said that they are
in the position of minimum reluctance, and when they are completely
unaligned, it is said they are in the position of maximum reluctance.

Figure 30 SRM and its power supply

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 Figure 31 Cross section of common SRM configurations: (a) 6/4 SRM and (b) 8/6 SRM

Control Methods

The impulse control is the simplest controller for the SRM. It is used,
essentially, for high speed control and for systems that do not require high
performance of the drive. Its typical implementation scheme, represented in
Figure 32, is composed by a speed controller, a phase control method, a
block that generates the transistors signals, and an overcurrent protection.
For the speed controller, a linear PI controller is usually used, as in
other electric drives with other electrical machines. It receives the speed
error and gives a reference voltage signal. The phase control has the task of
triggering each phase and decide how the reference voltage must be
applied. For this part, it is essential to have good accuracy in rotor position
measure in order to obtain an effective control.
This method can be divided into three parts. The first part happens
when the inductance is minimum, so the current can grow fast. A voltage is
applied for the current to reach the reference value. In the second part, the
self-inductance increases, and the current is expected to be kept constant.
And in the third part, the negative source voltage is applied, for the current
to decrease to zero before it starts producing negative torque.
For very high speeds, advancing the start and end angles of
commutation may be necessary. In this case the magnetizing and
demagnetizing times are much shorter, and the back-EMF makes the current
dynamic slower. This controller also needs an overcurrent protection, so
some current estimation or current sensor is necessary.

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 Figure 32 Speed control loop based on impulse control

The voltage is kept constant in the last controller, expecting the

current to be constant as well. Due to back-EMF and different inductance
values for different rotor positions, this does not happen. So, in order to solve
this limitation, a current controller is necessary for each phase. The
configuration of this controller, as shown in Figure 33, is in cascade form,
where the current is controlled in the inner loop and the speed in the outer
loop. There is also a decision block which dictates when each phase must be
conducting current or not according to the rotor position.

Figure 33 Block diagram of speed control based on current control

One of the main objectives in a speed controller is to have constant

torque with the lowest possible ripple. Measuring the instantaneous torque
with a sensor can be too expensive for most applications. The typical
solution is to measure currents and voltages in order to estimate the flux and
using look-up tables with the motor model. The torque control diagram is
shown in Figure 34. Although the feedback is the torque, a reference
generator with the task of dividing the required torque in the different
phases is still necessary. If this block is not well designed, and the instants of
conduction are wrong or, it does not concern current constraints, the system
can become unstable and impossible to control.

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Figure 34 Torque control diagram

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