On Field Weakening Performance of a Brushless Direct Current Motor with Higher Winding Inductance: Why Does Design Matter?

Abstract

This paper comprises the design, analysis, experimental verification and field weakening performance study of a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor for a light electric vehicle. The main objective is to design a BLDC motor having a higher value d-axis inductance, which implies an improved performance of field weakening and a higher constant power speed ratio (CPSR) operation. Field weakening operation of surface-mounted permanent magnet (SMPM) BLDC motors requires a large d-axis inductance, which is characteristically low for those motors due to large air gap and PM features. The design phases of the sub-fractional slot-concentrated winding structure with unequal tooth widths include the motivation and the computer aided study which is based on Finite Element Analysis using ANSYS Maxwell. A 24/20 slot-pole SMPM BLDC motor is chosen for prototyping. The designed motor is manufactured and performed at different phase-advanced currents in the field weakening region controlled by a TMS320F28335 digital signal processor. As a result of the experimental work, the feasibility and effectiveness of field weakening for BLDC motors are discussed thoroughly and the contribution of higher winding inductance is verified.

Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines

“…This trend can be seen in this special issue as a majority of the papers deals with PM motors with an emphasis on motor control. Five of the fifteen contributions target renewable energy sources [2][3][4]9,10], whereas the rest are focused on electric motors, with most examining electric vehicles [1,[5][6][7][8][11][12][13][14][15]. Three of the papers address brushless DC (BLDC) motors [7,11,12].…”

“…Five of the fifteen contributions target renewable energy sources [2][3][4]9,10], whereas the rest are focused on electric motors, with most examining electric vehicles [1,[5][6][7][8][11][12][13][14][15]. Three of the papers address brushless DC (BLDC) motors [7,11,12]. Six of the contributions present work on motor control, with the work of all six being experimentally verified [1,[6][7][8]11,15].…”

“…However, alternatives exist and novel magnets have been heavily researched. Almost all the papers in this special issue are based on NdFeB-magnets, as stated by the authors in references [10][11][12][13] or as assumed from the contents in references [1,[4][5][6][7][8][9]14,15]. However, paper [3] investigates a span of magnetic properties, which could fit any magnet material.…”

“…This special issue contains the successful invited submissions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] to a Special Issue of Energies on the subject area of "Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines". Interest in permanent magnet (PM) synchronous machines is continuously increasing worldwide.…”

Cuk Converter Based Reduction of Commutation Ripples in Bldcm

“…Both simulation and experimental results confirm the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. (3) An original analytical study concerning the torque ripple due to phase commutation on brushless DC motors is developed. The results indicate that the relative ripple is independent of current, varies with speed, and may reach 50% of the average torque.…”