Comparative assessment of a novel 8/18 multi-teeth with conventional 8/10 in-wheel SRM for an E-Scooter

Abstract

Electric scooters are increasingly gaining popularity in India owing to rising global crude oil prices and rising levels of vehicular pollution. Most of them are currently powered by expensive in-wheel (IW) permanent magnet (PM) brushless DC motors. Owing to their simplicity, and ruggedness while being cost-effective (since they do not employ PMs), switched reluctance motors (SRMs) are a viable alternative. Despite these benefits, SRMs possess drawbacks such as low torque density and inferior efficiency. Recently, a multi-teeth (MT) SRM with an improved performance was reported. However, the design of MTSRM topologies and their electromagnetic performance have not been explored sufficiently. In this paper, a design formula governing the selection of the number of MT and rotor poles for MTSRMs has been proposed. Using this, a novel four-phase 8/18 IW-MTSRM is derived and proposed for an E-scooter. The characteristics of the proposed SRM are numerically compared with a conventional 8/10 SRM based on magnetic characteristics, efficiencies and steady-state operation for the complete torque-speed range. Results indicate that the proposed 8/18 MTSRM has a higher peak torque capacity, torque density, superior drive cycle efficiency and reduced torque ripple. Further, the FEA model is validated experimentally on a downsized 8/18 MTSRM prototype.