Comparison of Harmonics in Two Phase Induction Machine with Various Winding Approaches for Traction

The impact of winding topologies on time harmonics and space harmonics in a hub type induction motor (HTIM) for electric vehicle (EV) traction is the premise of this study. Electrical machines such as permanent magnet brushless DC motor (PMBLDCM), switched reluctance motor (SRM) and induction motor (IM) are players under research for traction. Due to the ruggedness and absence of permanent magnet, IM is a strong contender to PMBLDCM and SRM. In an IM, ideally current and air-gap flux are sinusoidal. Current follows the supply frequency and air-gap flux follows the number of poles. Due to the distribution of coils in the windings, the current and the air-gap flux are greatly influenced in terms of harmonics. The presence of the harmonics in these sinusoids disrupt the performance of the machine by increased electrical and acoustic noise, and temperature as well. In this paper, a two phase HTIM is designed with various winding topologies. Finite element analysis is implemented to study the time harmonics present in current and space harmonics of air gap flux. Finally, the harmonics in the sinusoids for the individual windings are compared based on the total harmonic distortion (THD).