A cost‐effective and fault‐tolerant brushless direct current drive with open‐stator windings for low power electric vehicles

Abstract

SummaryDual‐inverter‐driven open‐end winding brushless direct current motor (OEWBLDCM) drives are amenable for the implementation of some interesting fault‐tolerant features, which could find useful applications in low power electric vehicles (EVs). The power semiconductor switching devices in the dual‐inverter system are vulnerable to the development of open‐circuit faults (OCFs) and the short‐circuit faults (SCFs). This paper investigates the possibility of imparting complete fault‐tolerant capability to EVs, which employ OEWBLDC motors for propulsion. With the proposed dynamic post‐fault reconfiguration of the power circuit and the reconnection of the battery banks, it is possible to deliver the rated (i.e., 100%) post‐fault output power to the BLDC motor, despite the failure of a power semiconductor switching device (because of either an OCF or an SCF) in the dual‐inverter system. The feasibility evaluation of the proposed fault‐tolerant drive reveals that the aforementioned objectives are realizable at an affordable hike in the raw material cost of the propulsion system. Simulation studies and Experimental verification on a laboratory prototype validate the proposed fault‐tolerant OEWBLDCM drive.