Browse Topic: Electric motors
The trucking industry is dealing with a lot of uncertainty, and higher fuel and equipment costs are making it harder for companies to plan and buy new trucks. What can OEMs and fleet operators do to mitigate these challenges? Hybrid systems may be the answer. With internal combustion and electric power, hybrid systems reduce fuel consumption, improve transient performance, enable low-speed electric operation and create more flexible power management. Vehicles and equipment that could benefit from new or retrofit hybrid systems include refuse trucks, dump trucks, long-haul trucks, port equipment, excavators, terminal tractors and commercial delivery vehicles.
Electric vehicle subsystems, including powertrains, electric motors, and gearboxes, pose new challenges in achieving stringent acoustic performance targets for both interior and exterior noise. These challenges are intensified by increasingly demanding customer expectations regarding interior acoustic comfort, which encompasses the reduction of intrusive noise sources and the enhancement of overall sound quality across a broad frequency spectrum. A primary concern associated with electric vehicles subsystems is the generation of high-frequency tonal noise, commonly referred to as whine noise, which can significantly impact acoustic performance and passenger comfort. High-frequency whine noise propagates through multiple transmission paths and can be effectively attenuated at the source through encapsulation strategies, which also contribute to broadband noise reduction across a wide frequency spectrum. To predict the acoustic performance of encapsulation, a coupled simulation approach combining the Boundary Element Method (BEM), the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Poroelastic Finite Element Method (PEM) has been developed. This methodology has been already presented and validated through experimental measurements, demonstrating its acoustic effectiveness in the encapsulation of a generic electric motor housing. While BEM is well-suited for modeling exterior acoustic propagation, standard implementations encounter limitations at high frequencies due to mesh density requirements and computational cost. This work presents hybrid parallelization strategies that integrate frequency-domain decomposition with multi-threading to accelerate BEM H-matrix computations. Frequency decomposition enables parallel processing by distributing independent frequency tasks across multiple processes, while multi-threading enhances performance for fine-grained operations such as matrix assembly and H-matrix compression within each frequency. The processes and improvements enabled by these strategies are discussed and presented within an adapted high-performance computing (HPC) environment.
To enhance the grinding quality of spiral bevel gears, an intelligent control model for the grinding process of automotive helical conical gears based on force feedback has been designed. This model outputs the control voltage for the machine tool's permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), ensuring that the motor speed constantly tracks the desired value. By adjusting the grinding generating speed, the grinding force is controlled, and the tooth surface roughness is reduced. Firstly, the state equation of a permanent magnet synchronous AC servo motor is established. By employing the second method of Lyapunov, an RM adaptive control algorithm is developed. It is found that the model output can efficiently track the reference model (RM) and adjust to variations in torque due to load. To further enhance the controller, a generalized regression neural network (GRNN) was developed; subsequently, training data were generated using the output voltage of the RM self-adjusting controller to achieve velocity regulation of the machine tool's servo motor. Finally, the results indicate that the GRNN controller is superior. It uses RM self-adjusting control data as samples for regression analysis, outputs control signals, and controls the angular velocities of each axis of the machine tool to control the grinding force within a reasonable threshold range, reducing the complexity of the controller and achieving lightweight. At the same time, the feasibility of the controller has been experimentally verified. This improves the roughness of the tooth surface during the grinding of spiral bevel gears and enhances the quality of vehicle operation.
The objective of NASA's 4th New Frontiers Mission, Dragonfly, is to explore the surface chemistry and habitability of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. With its thick nitrogen atmosphere, liquid methane cycle, and rich, organic surface materials, Titan holds clues to prebiotic chemistry to answer fundamental scientific questions about the building blocks of life. The combination of high fluid density (4.4x) and low gravity (1/7th) compared to Earth makes exploration of this cryogenic ocean world in the outer solar system feasible by means of a relocatable lander - this is Dragonfly, a multi-rotor vehicle designed for the unique atmospheric conditions and environment at Titan. Dragonfly enables flight in a quad-rotor configuration with two counter-rotating, canted rotors mounted on each of four sting arms. All eight rotors are three-bladed, stiff metal rotors that are controlled by variable-speed electric motors. The objective of this paper is to tell the story of Dragonfly's rotor blade design and optimization, starting with the conceptual design based on flight requirements for Titan, preliminary design iterations of the rotor blades, and detailed design and optimization of the final configuration. Details are given with respect to design constraints driven by the cryogenic Titan environment, resulting from scientific instruments located on Dragonfly, and the overall mission flight profile. Design tools ranged from momentum theory to free-wake methods, hybrid computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and blade-resolved CFD analyses compared to wind tunnel measurements of rotor and lander combinations.
Emerging technologies in the field of electrified propulsion systems offer a promising solution to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and improve efficiency. However, the design of high-power density electric machines introduces new challenges, including limited passive cooling potential and the issue of the weight of electric motors. To address these challenges, this paper considers analysis and design methods for high torque-to-weight ratio axial flux motors. A magnetic equivalent circuit model coupled with a lumped parameter thermal network is developed for design space exploration and optimization. This inexpensive analytical model predicts the performance of a single-stator dual-rotor axial flux motor based on geometry, loading condition, and slot and pole pair combination. To enable comparisons against real-world data, the optimization study was demonstrated using the hover mission requirements from the Research Aircraft for eVTOL Enabling techNologies (RAVEN) vehicle to minimize the mass of the motor. In tandem with the analytical model, a higher-fidelity finite element model was also developed, and good agreement between predicted power and efficiency was demonstrated across a range of axial flux motor designs. The lightest weight design that satisfied the hover mission requirements was the 12 pole pair 27 slot (12PP 27S) configuration with a fixed weight of 9.28 kg. The analytic model undersized the output power of the electric motor by approximately 9% across a range of slot and pole pair combinations.
Monitoring power device temperature in an electric vehicle propulsion drive converter is extremely important to achieve full power delivery within the maximum power capability envelope. Usually, on-die temperature sensors are installed on Si-IGBT power devices in electric vehicle propulsion drive converters to enable monitoring device temperature and achieve over-temperature protection. Currently, SiC MOSFET is a promising power device in power converters of electric drives because of its lower loss, higher switching speed, higher voltage capability, and higher junction temperature limit in comparison with the widely used Si-IGBT. However, SiC MOSFET is a more expensive device, installation of an on-die temperature sensor on SiC MOSFET will significantly increase its cost and complexity. So presently, there is no junction temperature sensor installed in SiC MOSFET due to which there is great difficulty protecting SiC MOSFET from over temperature. When a junction temperature estimation method is used to monitor SiC MOSFET temperature, the power loss computation of SiC MOSFET is a key factor. However, the existing loss calculation method assumes electric motors operate at high speed and power loss is computed/estimated with rms current. When the motor operates at low speed, the existing method is not practical because of a long fundamental period of phase current. The instantaneous power losses and hence the junction temperatures of the six power converter switches are not the same under such operating conditions. Hence, the junction temperature obtained with the loss computed from the rms current value does not reflect the actual device junction temperature, which may result in a failure of power device over-temperature (OT). This paper proposes a converter power device OT protection method under low motor speed to solve the above issues. The proposed method allows system cost and complexity reduction. It computes/estimates instantaneous loss and junction temperature for each individual power device of the power converter, which enables the OT detection at the motor low speed and/or imbalance phase operation. The paper presents the technical principle of the proposed instantaneous power loss and junction temperature estimation method, and OT protection for SiC MOSFET. Its model details, simulation, and experimental test results verify the new method.
Precision control in Level 4 Automated Vehicles is essential for enhancing operational efficiency, accuracy, and safety. This work, conducted as part of ARPA-E’s NEXTCAR program, focuses on developing a robust hardware and software control solution to enable drive-by-wire functionality. A previous publication by the authors presented the hardware solutions for overtaking stock vehicle controls. This paper focuses on a model-based and data-driven control algorithm to enable drive-by-wire functionality for longitudinal and lateral motion control for a 2021 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle. This vehicle was equipped with a set of sensors and an onboard processing unit to enable Level 4 automation. For lateral controls, an algorithm was developed to command steering torque to the electronic power steering module, ensuring the vehicle could attain the desired steering angle position at varying speeds. The system leveraged feedforward and feedback mechanisms. Feedback controller gains were identified through frequency response analysis of the steering torque assist electric motor and were further refined during track testing. To optimize the controller’s response time, a feedforward function was developed using a physics-aware model of the vehicle's steering system. The independent feature selection for the model was guided by using the physics of the system. For longitudinal control, the control inputs included the positions of the brake and accelerator pedals sent to the stock ECU, with the desired speed as the setpoint. The setup used a combination of feedforward and feedback control to achieve the target acceleration or deceleration. These algorithms underwent extensive dynamometer and track testing to perform various maneuvers in conjunction with the automated driving system.
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