A NOVEL WIDE SPEED RANGE PERMANENT-MAGNET BRUSHLESS DC MOTOR DRIVE FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

A novel permanent magnet (PM) brushless DC motor drive is developed fo r electric vehicles (EVs). This motor drive incorporates a newly devel oped multi-pole PM brushless DC motor and a novel control strategy for wide speed range operation. Hence, it provides definite advantages of high power density, high efficiency and wide speed range. The key iss ues are due to the fact that a unique arrangement of PMs, stator slots and stator windings has been designed to achieve high power density a nd high efficiency, and a sophisticated control approach has been devi sed to allow for high-speed constant-power operation. Both computer si mulation and experimental results verify that the proposed motor drive is highly suitable for electric propulsion. A prototype of 3.3 kW mot or drive has been designed for an experimental EV.