Since the early 1900's demand for fuel efficient vehicles has motivated the development of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Unfortunately, some components used in these vehicles are expensive and complex. AC motors, complex electronic controllers and complex battery management systems are currently used in electric (EV) and hybrid vehicles. This research examines various motors and speed control methods in an attempt to help designers identify which motors would be best suited for an EV powertrain application. The feasibility of using DC motors coupled with an Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT), to obtain an innovative new electric or hybrid electric powertrain is also presented. The results of this research include an extensive review of the many motor types including a comparison chart and motor hierarchy. An experiment was designed and built to test motorspeed control methods. Testing with two DC separately-excited motors and a differential as an IVT was also conducted. These tests revealed that field weakening appears to be a viable low-costspeed-control method. Testing of these motors, coupled with an IVT revealed that the output of a differential or planetary gear set can be controlled by varying the speed of the inputs. Combining this information in a product development mentality led to the concept of using one DC motor as a power or traction motor while another motor acts as a speed controller, with the method of speedcontrol on the speed control motor being field weakening. This concept allows most of the power to be delivered at an efficient rate with a simple form of speed control. This concept may also eliminate the need for expensive, complex electronic motor controllers. This approach could be used to improve the safety and reduce battery management requirements by lowering the operating voltage of the entire system.

Over eight decades of research into total artificial hearts (TAHs) has significantly contributed  to saving end-stage heart failure patients. However, at the current stage of development TAHs have several limitations, one of them being their bulkiness. Hence this thesis, with the goal to evaluate the right pump of the TAH developed by Scandinavian Real Heart and propose a compact right drive system without consuming significantly more power than the initial system. In order to do this, the requirements for the right drive systems are evaluated and defined. These requirements are then used to develop a methodology, including a MatLab simulation, for examining and selecting motors for the drive unit of the TAH. Subsequently, the methodology and the simulation are used to identify and assess over 200 motors, as well as select 3 motors for real-world experimental analysis. The suggested motors and the initial motor are then tested in a mock circulatory loop to investigate the performance characteristics and power consumption of the motors. This is done to select the final motor for the right drive unit, as well as verify and validate the created simulation. Based on careful analysis of the mathematical models used in the simulation and presented experimental data, the simulation was accepted to be verified. However, the support for validation of the simulation was lacking, as conflicting outcome for some cases were observed between the simulation and experimental data. Furthermore, given the empirical evidence, a brushless dc motor for the right drive unit and its implementation was proposed. The proposed motor has 11% reduction in size, 20% reduction in power consumption and 34% reduction in weight compared to the initial motor. Therefore, a drive unit with the suggested motor can have a significant impact on the right pump, and potentially even the left pump. Furthermore, the utilisation of the developed simulation can ultimately result in efficient and cost-effective motor selection and provide valuable contribution to the field of drive system development for TAHs. / Över åtta decennier av forskning om totala artificiella hjärtan (TAH) har omfattande bidragit till att rädda patienters liv med kronisk hjärtsvikt. Dessvärre har TAH flera begränsningar i det nuvarande stadiet i utveckling där storleken är ett problem. Därav denna avhandling, med målet att utvärdera den högra pumpen av en TAH utvecklad av Scandinavian Real Heart, för att föreslå ett mer kompakt höger drivsystem utan att det ska förbruka väsentlig mängd mer energi än det ursprungliga systemet. För att åstadkomma detta, har de fysiologiska krav för den högra pumpen analyserats och utifrån den utförda analysen nya krav för drivsystemet har formulerats. Dessa krav har sedan lagt grunden till utveckling av en metodik, inklusive en MatLab-simulering, för att undersöka och välja motorer för drivsystemet av en TAH. Metodiken i samband med simuleringen har använts för att identifiera och bedöma över 200 motorer. Av dessa motorer har tre motorer valts för experimentell utvärdering. I den experimentella utvärderingen, prestandaegenskaper och effektförbrukning av samtliga valda motorer och den ursprungliga motorn har utvärderats i ett konstgjort cirkulationssystem. Syftet med den experimentella utvärderingen är att komma fram till en slutmotor, samt verifiera och validera den utvecklade simuleringen. Baserad på noggrann analys av de använda matematiska modeller i simuleringen och det presenterade experimentella data, ansågs simuleringen vara verifierad. Däremot saknades stöd för validering av simuleringen, på grund av en del motsägande utfall mellan simulering och experimentell data. Därutöver, utifrån den empiriska evidensen föreslogs en borstlös likströmsmotor och dess implementering för det högra drivsystemet. Den föreslagna motorn är 11% mindre i storlek, har 20% lägre effektförbrukning och väger 34% mindre än den ursprungliga motorn. Därför kan en drivenhet med den föreslagna motorn ha en betydande inverkan på den högra pumpen, och potentiellt även den vänstra. Dessutom kan den utvecklade simuleringen användas för att göra urval av motorer för TAH på ett produktivt samt kostnadseffektivt sätt och därmed bidra till framtida utvecklingar av drivenheter för TAH.