On design and analysis of synchronous permanent magnet machines for field-weakening operation in hybrid electric vehicles

Abstract: A regular vehicle of today is equipped with an internal combustion engine that runs on either gasoline or diesel, which are fossil fuels from oil reserves that are millions of years old. In all types of combustion processes carbon dioxide and several other emissions are produced. There are none known technologies of today that can reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide from combustion, but the amount that is produced is mainly dependent on the fuel that is used. Combustion of fossil fuels increases the contamination of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and diminishes the oil resources. The results are global warming and empty oil reserves within a few decades with the current production tempo, in addition to many other pollution effects that are harmful to the environment. A transition towards a society based on sustainable transportation is therefore urgent. The hydrogen fuel cell powered car with an electric propulsion system has the potential to be the car of the future that possesses the required characteristics of no harmful tailpipe emissions. There are some obstacles in the way for an early commercialisation, including the expensive catalysts used today and the lack of an infrastructure based on hydrogen, though. The hybrid electric vehicle, with both a conventional as well as an electric drivetrain, is a natural candidate for making the transition from the conventional car towards the car of the future.This thesis is focused on the design and analysis of permanent magnet machines for a novel hybrid electric vehicle drive system called the Four Quadrant Transducer. A number of electrical machine aspects are identified, including cores of soft magnetic composites, fractional pitch concentrated windings, core segmentation, novel machine topologies and cost effective production methods. The main objective is to analyse and judge the many unconventional machine aspects of which some may have the potential to improve the performance and reduce the cost of permanent magnet machines. Another objective is to study the effects of the use of fossil fuels and describe them with a new perspective and thereby make one small contribution to the debate about energy issues. Much focus has been spent on the theory of concentrated windings for permanent magnet machines. The potential parasitic effects and methods to improve the torque performance have been described. Other topics that have been given a high priority are material and power loss studies. An important contribution to the understanding of iron losses during field-weakening operation has been presented. A comprehensive use of finite element modeling has been done in the analysis combined with measurements on several laboratory prototypes.The Four Quadrant Transducer drivetrain and its two electrical machines intended for a midsized passenger car has been studied. The gearbox can be of a simple single stage type, which reduces the mechanical complexity and makes the traction performance of the vehicle smooth, without gear changes and drops in power. Simulations on a complete hybrid system show that fuel savings of more than 40% compared to a conventional vehicle can be achieved at citytraffic driving. The savings are modest at highway driving, since the engine is required to operate at high power during such conditions, and the support from the electrical system is negligible. The laboratory prototypes have shown that it is possible to manufacture high performance electrical machines with high material utilization and potential for automated production. The described concepts offer cost effective solutions for future drive systems in automotive and industrial applications. A number of weaknesses with the presented constructions have also been characterized, which should serve as guidelines for creating more optimized machines.