Abstract
This paper presents the design of a new axial-flux switched-reluctance motor (AFSRM) topology for in-wheel drive vehicle applications. The features of the topology include a short flux path and an outer-rotor configuration. The proposed topology also uses a sintered-lamellar soft magnetic composite core material, and permits displacement of the rotor along the suspension axis, which reduces damage to the stator caused by impacts and vibrations. The combination of these features makes this new topology competitive with other in-wheel motors in regard to torque density, durability, and cost. To describe the behaviour of the topology, a model of the topology is developed using a new integral inductance function. That model is used to select the design parameters of an 8/6 AFSRM, for which a fuzzy controller is also developed to control the phase current. Several simulations of the 8/6 AFSRM are performed to calculate its energy conversion efficiency, thermal performance, and torque density, and results indicate that the new AFSRM has a higher energy conversion efficiency, and can produce more torque/kg than other switched-reluctance motors used for in-wheel drive vehicle applications.
Highlights
Electric drive systems are gaining importance in the automotive industry due to their high efficiency, low weight, and simple construction
We developed a new axial-flux switched-reluctance motor (AFSRM) topology using physics-based insights from electromagnetic motor models
The new modelling technique is different from existing techniques in two important ways; first, an integral inductance calculation is used instead of a traditional inductance calculation or a permeance calculation [23], and second, the transient motor behaviours are modelled using a numerical code based on the integral inductance function, instead of finite-element analysis (FEA) [33]
Summary
Electric drive systems are gaining importance in the automotive industry due to their high efficiency, low weight, and simple construction. To reduce the motor mass, permanent magnets can be added to the rotors of in-wheel drives to increase the flux density without increasing the size of the windings, but high-performance permanent magnets which include rare-earth metals are expensive and damaged [3]. FEA can be used for complex geometries, but the duration of the FEA process can be very long [16] Each of these techniques is useful for analysis of SRM performance, but no single technique provides all of the information needed to produce a design with maximum torque density. The new type of SRM has low hysteresis losses because it has unique phase configuration; it has a long constant power range because it uses a simple fuzzy control technique to improve the average torque by calculating optimal switching angles at each motor speed.
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