Design, FEM analysis and development of switched reluctance motor electric drive for TRI-wheeler E-vehicle application

Abstract

Electric vehicles have seen substantial growth in recent years in the emerging economies of the world. The current market scenario of E-vehicles is dominated by PMSM or BLDC motors due to their higher torque-to-power density, and efficiency with added performance metrics of the motor. However, the higher capital cost of permanent magnets makes the motor designers to consider an alternative to magnetic motors, the so-called Switched Reluctance Motors (SRM). With proper FEM analysis and controller design, if SRMs can able to achieve the performance metrics of a PMSM/BLDC, it will be a breakthrough in the automotive sector with affordable prices. Based on the aforementioned facts, this research work focuses on SRM as a viable alternative to the existing PMSM/BLDC motor. The work concentrates on the design and development of an 8/6 SRM for a Tri-wheeler E-vehicle application. The designed motor is fabricated, tested and controlled by WAVECT, an FPGA-based real-time digital controller which is used to control the commutation of the 8/6 SRM. The yielded response satisfactorily proves that the designed 8/6 SRM can be effectively used for the Tri-wheeler E-vehicle application, thereby paving the way for sustainable energy conservation in the automotive sector.