Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Electric vehicles (EVs) face a major issue before becoming the norm of society, that is, their lack of range when it comes to long trips. Fast charging stations are a good step forward to help make it simpler for EVs, but it is still not as convenient when compared to vehicles with an internal combustion engine (ICE). Plenty of infrastructure changes have been proposed in the literature attempting to tackle this issue, but they typically tend to be either an expensive solution or a difficult practical implementation. This dissertation presents two solutions to help increase the range of EVs: a novel wireless charging method and a multi-motor architecture for EVs. The first proposed solution involves the ability for EVs to charge while en route from another vehicle, which will be referred to from here on as vehicle-to-vehicle recharging (VVR). The aim of this system is to bring an innovative way for EVs to charge their battery without getting off route on a highway. The electric vehicle can request such a service from a designated charger vehicle on demand and receive electric power wirelessly while en route. The vehicles that provide energy (charger vehicles) through wireless power transfer (WPT) only need to be semi-autonomous in order to ``engage'' or ``disengage'' during a trip. Also, a novel method for wireless power transfer will be presented, where the emitter (TX) or receiver (RX) pads can change angles to improve the efficiency of power transmission. This type of WPT system would be suitable for the VVR system presented in this dissertation, along with other applications. The second solution presented here will be an architecture for EVs with three or more different electric motors to help prolong the state of charge (SOC) of the battery. The key here is to use motors with different high efficiency regions. The proposed control algorithm optimizes the use of the motors on-board to keep them running in their most efficient regions. With this architecture, the powertrain would see a combined efficiency map that incorporates the best operating points of the motors. Therefore, the proposed architecture will allow the EV to operate with a higher range for a given battery capacity. The state-of-the-art is divided into four subsections relevant to the proposed solutions and where most of the innovations to reduce the burden of charging EVs can be found: (1) infrastructure changes, (2) device level innovations, (3) autonomous vehicles, and (4) electric vehicle architectures. The infrastructure changes highlight some of the proposed systems that aim to help EVs become a convenient solution to the public. Device level innovations covers some of the literature on technology that addresses EVs in terms of WPT. The autonomous vehicle subsection covers the importance of such technology in terms of safety and reliability, that could be implemented on the VVR system. Finally, the EV architectures covers the current typologies used in EVs. Furthermore, modeling, analysis, and simulation is presented to validate the feasibility of the proposed VVR system, the WPT system, and the multi-motor architecture for EVs.

Abstract The transportation sector has a vital role in today’s society and accounts for 20 % of our global total energy consumption. It is also one of the most greenhouse gas emission intensive sectors as almost 95 % of its energy originates from petroleum-based fuels. Due to the possible harmful nature of greenhouse gases, there is a need for a transition to more sustainable transportation alternatives. A possible alternative to the conventional petroleum-based road transportation is, implementation of Electric Road Systems (ERS) in combination with electric vehicles (Evs). There are currently three proven ERS technologies, namely, conductive power transfer through overhead lines, conductive power transfer from rails in the road and inductive power transfer through the road. The wireless charging or inductive charging electric vehicles (EV) are a type of EVs with a battery which is charged from a charging infrastructure and using the wireless power transfer technology. The wireless charging EVs are classified as stationary or dynamic charging EVs. The stationary charging EVs charge wirelessly when they are parked as well as dynamic charging EVs can charge while they are in motion. Number of studies have reported that, one of the main benefits of dynamic charging is, it allows smaller as well as lighter batteries to be used due to the frequent charging using in the charging infrastructure embedded under roads. The purpose of this thesis is to understand the recent developments of technologies in wireless charging system globally and find out the best effective method which can use for fuelling all Electric vehicles. The findings show that not all countries are viable for ERS from an economic standpoint, however, a large number of countries in the world do have good prospects for ERS implementation. Findings further indicated that small and developed countries are best suited for ERS implementation. From a technological and Business perspective, the wireless charging system in road was found to be the most attractive ERS technology followed by overhead conductive road ERS technologies.

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