Electric Traction Machine Design for an E-RWD Unit

Abstract: Popular Abstract in English Since the first generation of the Toyota Prius was first introduced in December 1997, the number of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and pure Electric Vehicles (EVs) available in the market has increased substantially, and nowadays almost every car manufacturer has at least one HEV or even EV model within their range. The reason behind this trend relies on the increased concern over the limited availability of fossil fuels together with the now well documented effect of the gases resulting from their combustion onto the atmosphere, which leads to a transition towards alternative renewable energy sources, not least in transport applications. Electrical machines play an essential role inside electric or hybrid drivelines. As a bidirectional energy converter between electric and mechanical energy, all the power coming either to or from the electric energy source must be converted in the electrical machine. It is then obvious that the performance of the electrical machine has a high impact on the overall traction system, and therefore a thorough machine design is crucial for a successful electric driveline. This thesis describes in detail the design process of an electric traction machine for a certain HEV application, an Electric Rear Wheel Drive (ERWD) unit. The requirements associated with this particular application are analyzed, and a new design methodology is developed in order to find the optimal electric traction machine for it. As the design work progresses, it becomes more and more apparent that a good thermal design is at least as important as a good electromagnetic design, especially for the application considered. Besides, the thermal and the electromagnetic design tasks are not independent. Conversely, there is actually a high level of interdependence between them, and therefore both need to be solved simultaneously. As opposed to traditional industrial applications, the load profile of an electric traction machine is highly dynamic, depending on the driver's requirements and the external driving conditions. Usually, an optimal machine for this application should be able to operate over the rated power (torque and/or speed) for a significant amount of time, and this is only possible with an outstanding thermal design. In addition, the thesis also covers several practical aspects related to the manufacturing of electrical machine prototypes and the experimental tests of such in the laboratory.