Modeling and Design of the Electric Drivetrain for the 2013 Research Concept Vehicle

Abstract: 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.