Enabling driving cycle loss reduction in variable flux PMSMs via closed-loop magnetization state control

Abstract

Variable flux permanent magnet synchronous machines (VF-PMSMs) have recently been proposed to reduce driving cycle losses in electric vehicle traction motors via magnetization state (MS) manipulation. This paper presents a closed-loop magnetization state (MS) control method to enable reliable loss minimization control of VF-PMSMs. The MS is estimated at every sample instant and is used as feedback for the closed-loop control. Under most circumstances, the proposed method maintains precise torque control even during the MS manipulation transient by using a deadbeat-direct torque and flux control (DB-DTFC) framework. The state-of-the-art high-speed flux trajectory generation method for MS manipulation is integrated in the new closed-loop method to allow MS manipulation up to the maximum speed within the inverter voltage limit. The effectiveness of the proposed methods, in terms of driving cycle loss reduction capability and its thermal impact, is evaluated experimentally by emulating the road load using the dynamometer load motor.