New In-Wheel Electric Motor Design for Small Electric Vehicle Using Opera2D

Abstract

Due to the increasing of fuel price, a new approach for the vehicle propulsion system needs to be developed. One of the approaches is by applying an electric motor in the vehicle propulsion unit. A new in-wheel electric motor is designed using finite element software Opera2D. This electric motor is intended to be applied for a small electric vehicle with a maximum speed up to 60 km/h. The electric motor is directly connected to the wheel of the electric vehicle. The total mass of electric vehicle is about 200 kg and the electrical power is fully supplied by rechargeable batteries. The proposed motor is based on the radial technology and one types of motor are developed i.e. Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) with different value of motor parameters. The better motor design will be implemented in the small electric vehicle. The torque, speed, and power of the developed electric motor are simulated using Opera2D after the actual electric motor dimension is created in the Opera2D. After the simulated results are obtained, then the next phase is to fabricate the actual motor using laminated steel iron, permanent magnet, and coils.