Abstract
Electric machines are critical components of the drivetrains of electric vehicles. Over the past few years the majority of traction drive systems have converged toward containing some form of a permanent magnet machine. There is increasing tendency toward the improvement of power density and efficiency of traction machines, thereby giving rise to innovative designs and improvements of basic machine topologies and the emergence of new classes of machines. This paper provides an overview of present trends toward high specific power density machines for traction drive systems. The focus will be on current technology and the trends that are likely to be pursued in the near future to achieve the high specific power goals set for the industry. The paper discusses machines that are applied in both hybrid and battery electric drivetrains without distinction and does not discuss the associated power electronic inverters. Future electric machine trends that are likely to occur are also projected.
Highlights
The electrification of vehicular powertrains is widely considered as a viable means of increasing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the automotive sector
This paper presents an overview of notable trends toward high specific power density and highpower density machines used for traction in recent vehicles with a focus on current technologies and the trends that are likely to be pursued in the near future
The major directions likely include the development of permanent magnet machines with high specific power and high power density, since the majority of the traction machines are currently permanent magnet machines
Summary
The electrification of vehicular powertrains is widely considered as a viable means of increasing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the automotive sector. Since the early 2000s, the ORNL has regularly purchased vehicles from the US market and conducted detailed testing and teardown of their drivetrain components and produced comprehensive reports on their findings [7,8,9,10,11]. The electric machine and drives have been the focus of massive innovation over the years with increasing trends toward the development of high specific power machines and machines with little heavy rare earth magnet content. The basic types of electric machines used in recent vehicles are briefly described in Section 2 and the recent trends in the design of the machines for EVs are reviewed in Section 3, with the discussion of some projected trends that would be expected in the few years and this is followed by the conclusion
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call