7th IFAC Symposium on Advances in Automotive Control, The International Federation of Automatic Control, September 4-7, 2013. Tokyo, Japan

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In this thesis, we propose a stochastic power management strategy for in-wheel motor electric vehicles (IWM-EVs) to optimize energy consumption and to increase driving range. The driving range for EVs is a critical issue since the battery is the only source of energy. Considering the unpredictable nature of the driver’s power demand, a stochastic dynamic programing (SDP) control scheme is employed. The Policy Iteration Algorithm, one of the efficient SDP algorithms for infinite horizon problems, is used to calculate the optimal policies which are time-invariant and can be implemented directly in real-time application. Applying this control package to a high-fidelity model of an in-wheel motor electric vehicle developed in the Autonomie/Simulink environment results in considerable battery charge economy performance, while it is completely free to launch since it does not need further sensor and communication system. In addition, a skid avoidance algorithm is integrated to the power management strategy to maintain the wheels’ slip ratios within the desired values. Undesirable slip ratio causes poor brake and traction control performances and therefore should be avoided. The simulation results with the integrated power management and skid avoidance systems show that this system improves the braking performance while maintaining the power efficiency of the power management system.

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The research for electric vehicles has been growing during last years and the development of electric drive trains can be considered a main challenge. This thesis presents the electric drive train of the research concept vehicle (RCV) 2013, with particular focus on electric machines, motor controllers, and the communication system. In the first part of this thesis, the electric drive train configuration and components are described. In-wheel motors are proposed which is a permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM). This technology allows the use of autonomous corner modules (ACM) increasing the quality and safety of the system. Each of the four in-wheel motors has a controller enabling the use of torque or speed control mode. Furthermore, a dSPACE unit provides the total control of the system by CAN bus. Additionally, the dSPACE ControlDesk interface used to control the drive system is presented. In the second part, the heat sink of the AC Drive is investigated by measurements and analytical calculations. Furthermore, the motor temperature at different loads is also presented and discussed. Finally, the efficiency of an in-wheel motor (PRA 230) is studied. Also the efficiency of the motor controller is estimated and discussed.

This thesis deals with the design of a permanent-magnet synchronous inner rotor motor for an in-wheel application for the Shell Eco Marathon Urban concept vehicle. First of all, concepts related to permanent magnet motors are studied. Likewise, different features of permanent magnet motors are qualitatively evaluated in order to choose the most suitable. A radial flux motor is selected based on its solid, economic and acceptable characteristics. Next, a detailed study of concentrated windings is carried out. Through this investigation, undesirable configurations of pole and slot numbers due to unbalanced magnetic pull or a low fundamental winding factor will be avoided and how to determine the different winding layouts for different pole and slots configuration will be explained. As well, based on this study, and the magnetic and electric behavior of the machine, an analytical model is created. This model calculates the optimum size and characteristics of a machine in order to obtain lightweight design. After that, the design of a program based on a finite element method that simulates different situations for the machine is accomplished, dealing with the difficulties that entails the concentrated windings. Finally, through the use of this program, the machine calculated by the analytical model is analyzed, specially regarding that it does not surpass some important margin in order not to be demagnetized or not to surpass the maximum phase voltage supplied by the batteries.

[pt] Esta dissertação apresenta o estudo para o desenvolvimento de um powertrain elétrico com motorização independente na massa não suspensa do veículo, acoplado diretamente nas rodas In Wheel ou Hub-Motor . O desenvolvimento do sistema proposto visa à maximização da eficiência dos veículos elétricos pela minimização das perdas relacionadas a sistemas mecânicos, como na transmissão convencional utilizada em veículos com motorização única. Outro fator motivador para o desenvolvimento do powertrain com motorização independente é a aplicação de controles independentes para cada roda, possibilitando desenvolver e aplicar uma gama de controles no veículo, os quais com a motorização única não são possíveis ou possuem desempenho não satisfatório. O trabalho apresenta uma visão geral sobre os veículos elétricos, o estudo do comportamento dinâmico vertical com o aumento da massa não suspensa do veículo, desenvolvimento de um controle de velocidade para o powertrain proposto, desenvolvimento de um controle de frenagem ABS elétrico, simulação do sistema em ciclos de direção com o cálculo da eficiência energética do powertrain, e um experimento em um dinamômetro de bancada para validação da eficiência energética dos ciclos simulados. / [en] This paper presents a study for the development of an electric powertrain with independent engines in the vehicle mass not suspended, directly coupled to the wheels In Wheel or Hub-Motor . The development of the proposed system aims at maximizing the efficiency of electric vehicles by minimizing losses related to mechanical systems, as in conventional transmission used in vehicles with single engine. Another motivating factor for the development of powertrain with independent engines is the application of independent controls for each wheel, allowing for the development and application of a range of controls in the vehicle, which would not be possible or would have unsatisfactory performance if a single engine was used. This work presents an overview of electric vehicles, the study of the dynamic vertical behavior with increasing mass of the suspended vehicle, development of a speed control for the proposed powertrain, development of an electric ABS braking control, system simulation toward cycles to calculate the energy efficiency of the powertrain, and an experiment on a bench dynamometer to validate the energy efficiency of simulated cycles.

The design and manufacture of lightweight electric vehicles is becoming increasingly important with the rising cost of petrol, and the effects emissions from petrol powered vehicles are having on our environment. The University of Waikato and HybridAuto's Ultracommuter electric vehicle was designed, manufactured, and tested. The vehicle has been driven over 1800km with only a small reliability issue, indicating that the Ultracommuter was well designed and could potentially be manufactured as a solution to ongoing transportation issues. The use of titanium aluminide components in the automotive industry was researched. While it only has half the density of alloy steel, titanium aluminides have the same strength and stiffness as steel, along with good corrosion resistance, making them suitable as a lightweight replacement for steel components. Automotive applications identified that could benefit from the use of TiAl include brake callipers, brake rotors and electric motor components.

In this thesis, the feasibility to integrate an brake disc and electric machine is investigated. In wheel motors (IWMs) have several advantages, such as saving space in the vehicle, individual and direct control at the wheels and the absence of a mechanical transmission. However, today’s IWMs are heavy and, thus, negatively affect the driving performance of the vehicle due to the increase of the unsprung mass. By integrating an already existing part in the wheel, this increase of the unsprung mass can be minimized. The brake disc manages high temperatures, a significant wear in rough environ-ment, which puts high demands on the rotor. The second part of the machine, the stator, will be significantly affected by the high temperatures of the rotor. The temperatures of the stator are transferred by convection, conduction and radiation from the rotor or brake disc. Liquid cooling of the stator back is analyzed as a potential solution for handling the high temperatures. In order to analyze the feasibility of the concept, thermal, electric and mechanical modelling has been used. The evaluation whether it is possible or not to integrate the brake disc has been with regard to the results of weight, cost, thermal tolerance and electric performance. / I detta arbete undersöks möjligheten att integrera en bromsskiva med elmaskin. Hjul-motorer har flera fördelar, bland annat sparas utrymme i själva bilen, individuell kontroll samt drivning av hjulen utan mekaniska transmissioner. Men hjulmotorer som kan användas idag väger oftast så pass mycket att den odämpade massan ökar kritiskt och köregenskaper av fordonet då blir lidande. Genom att integrera en befintlig del i hjulet kan ¨okningen av odämpade massan minskas. Att använda bromsskivan som rotor, kräver att denna tål temperaturer ¨over 500◦C samt påfrestningar och slitage som en vanlig mekanisk friktionsbroms måste uthärda. Den andra delen av maskinen, statorn kommer även denna att påverkas av de höga temperaturerna av bromsskivan som kommer ledas via konvektion, konduktion och strålning. Möjligheten att kyla statorn med vätska och om detta är tillräckligt undersöks. För att analyserna genomförbarheten av projektet har termiska, elektriska och mekaniska modeller använts. Resultaten har analyserats där maskinens vikt, kostnad, termisk tålighet och elektrisk prestanda har legat till grund för bedömningen om lösningen; att integrera en broms-skiva med elmaskin är rimlig eller ej.