Electrical and Hybrid Vehicle

3170923

III. Electric Drive Trains

3.1 Basic concept of electric traction

A modern electric drive train is conceptually illustrated in Figure 1. The

drive train consists of three major subsystems: electric motor propulsion,
energy source, and auxiliary. The electric propulsion subsystem comprises
the vehicle controller, power electronic converter, electric motor, mechanical
transmission, and driving wheels. The energy source subsystem involves the
energy source, the energy management unit, and the energy refueling unit.
The auxiliary subsystem consists of the power steering unit, the hotel
climate control unit, and the auxiliary supply unit. Based on the control
inputs from the accelerator and brake pedals, the vehicle controller provides
proper control signals to the electronic power converter, which functions to
regulate the power flow between the electric motor and energy source.

Figure 1 Conceptual illustration of general EV configuration

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Dept. of EE, Laxmi Institute of Technology, Sarigam
 The backward power flow is due to the regenerative braking of the EV
and this regenerated energy can be restored into the energy source,
provided the energy source is receptive. Most EV batteries as well as
ultracapacitors and flywheels readily posses the ability to accept
regenerative energy. The energy management unit cooperates with the
vehicle controller to control the regenerative braking and its energy
recovery. It also works with the energy refueling unit to control the refueling
unit and to monitor the usability of the energy source. The auxiliary power
supply provides the necessary power with different voltage levels for all the
EV auxiliaries, especially the air conditioning (Climate control unit) and
power steering units.
3.1.1 Introduction to various electric drive-train topologies
There are a variety of possible EV configurations due to the variations
in electric propulsion characteristics and energy sources, as shown in Figure
2.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)
Figure 2 Possible EV configurations

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Dept. of EE, Laxmi Institute of Technology, Sarigam
  Figure 2.(a) shows the configuration of the first alternative, in which an
electric propulsion replaces the IC engine of a conventional vehicle
drive train. It consists of an electric motor, a clutch, a gearbox, and a
differential. The clutch and gearbox may be replaced by an automatic
transmission. The clutch is used to connect or disconnect the power of
the electric motor from the driven wheels. The gearbox provides a set
of gear ratios to modify the speed-power (torque) profile to match the
load requirement.
 Figure 2.(b) : With an electric motor that has constant power in a long
speed range, a fixed gearing can replace the multispeed gearbox and
reduce the need for a clutch. This configuration not only reduces the
size and weight of the mechanical transmission, it also simplifies the
drive train control because gear shifting is not needed.
 Figure 2.(c) : the electric motor, the fixed gearing, and the differential
can be further integrated into a single assembly while both axles point
at both driving wheels. The whole drive train is further simplified and
compacted.
 Figure 2.(d) : the mechanical differential is replaced by using two
traction motors. Each of them drives one side wheel and operates at a
different speed when the vehicle is running along a curved path.
 Figure 2.(e) : In order to further simplify the drive train, the traction
motor can be placed inside a wheel. This arrangement is the so-called
in-wheel drive. A thin planetary gear set may be employed to reduce
the motor speed and enhance the motor torque. The thin planetary
gear set offers the advantage of a high-speed reduction ratio as well as
an inline arrangement of the input and output shaft.
 Figure 2.(f) : By fully abandoning any mechanical gearing between the
electric motor and the driving wheel, the out-rotor of a low-speed
electric motor in the in-wheel drive can be directly connected to the
driving wheel. The speed control of the electric motor is equivalent to
the control of the wheel speed and hence the vehicle speed. However,
this arrangement requires the electric motor to have a higher torque,
to start and accelerate the vehicle.

3.2 Power flow control in electric drive-train topologies

The power flows in a battery electric vehicle are shown in Figure 3. Due
to the variations in HEV configurations, different power control strategies are
necessary to regulate the power flow to or from different components. All the
control strategies aim satisfy the following goals:
 Maximum fuel efficiency
 Minimum emissions
 Minimum system costs

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  Good driving performance

Figure 3 Power flow in battery-powered electric vehicle

3.3 Electric Propulsion unit

 Electric propulsion systems are at the heart of EVs and HEVs.
They consist of electric motors, power converters, and electronic
controllers.
 The electric motor converts the electric energy into mechanical
energy to propel the vehicle, or vice versa, to enable
regenerative braking and/or to generate electricity for charging
the on-board energy storage.
 The power converter is used to supply the electric motor with
proper voltage and current. The electronic controller commands
the power converter by providing control signals to it, and then it
controls the operation of the electric motor to produce proper
torque and speed, according to the command from the driver.
o The electronic controller can be further divided into three
functional units—sensor, interface circuitry, and processor.
 The functional block diagram of an electric propulsion system is
illustrated in Figure 4.

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Dept. of EE, Laxmi Institute of Technology, Sarigam
 Figure 4 Functional block diagram

3.3.1 BATTERY
Hybrid Electric Vehicle uses battery as one of its power sources
for vehicle motion during at low power conditions. Batteries are
devices that consist of electrochemical cells and provide electrical
energy converted from stored chemical energy. There are six major
rechargeable batteries available today,
 lead-acid (Pbacid)
 nickel-cadmium (NiCd)
 nickel-metal hydride (NiMH)
 lithium-ion (Li-ion)
 lithiumpolymer (Li-poly)
 zinc-air
3.3.2 THREE PHASE INVERTER
In a three phase voltage source inverter bridge, controlled
switching with the help of IGBT is used to control voltage in normal
operation, and a parallel diode is connected to make the inverter

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Dept. of EE, Laxmi Institute of Technology, Sarigam
 bidirectional in nature. AC voltage is obtained by switching the IGBT
switches in a specific pattern to obtain bipolar square two level
waveform.
3.3.3 ELECTRIC MOTOR
The motor drives for EVs and HEVs can be classified into two main
groups, commutator motors and commutator-less motors, as
illustrated in Figure 5. Commutator motors mainly are the traditional
DC motors, which include series-excited, shunt-excited, compound-
excited, separately excited, and permanent magnet (PM)-excited
motors.
 DC motors need commutators and brushes to feed current into
the armature, making them less reliable and unsuitable for
maintenance-free operation and high speed. In addition, winding-
excited DC motors have low specific power density. Nevertheless,
because of their mature technology and simple control, DC motor
drives have been prominent in electric propulsion systems.
 Technological developments have recently pushed commutator-
less electric motors into a new era. Advantages include higher
efficiency, higher power density, and lower operating cost. They
are also more reliable and maintenance-free compared to
commutator DC motors; thus, commutator-less electric motors
have now become more attractive.

Figure 5 Classification of electric motor drives

 Induction motors are widely accepted as a commutatorless motor

type for EV and HEV propulsion. This is because of their low cost,
high reliability, and maintenance-free operation. However,
conventional control of induction motors such as variable voltage,
variable frequency cannot provide the desired performance.

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Dept. of EE, Laxmi Institute of Technology, Sarigam
 o With the advent of the power electronics and
microcomputer era, the principle of field-oriented control
(FOC) or vector control of induction motors has been
accepted to overcome their control complexity due to their
nonlinearity.
o However, these EV and HEV motors using FOC still suffer
from low efficiency at light loads and a limited constant-
power operating range.
 By replacing the field winding of conventional synchronous
motors with PMs, PM synchronous motors can eliminate
conventional brushes, slip rings, and field copper losses.
o These PM synchronous motors are also called PM brushless
AC motors, or sinusoidal-fed PM brushless motors, because
of their sinusoidal AC current and brushless configuration.
 Since these motors are essentially synchronous motors, they can
run from a sinusoidal or pulse width modulation (PWM) supply
without electronic commutation.
 When PMs are mounted on the rotor surface, they behave as
nonsalient synchronous motors because the permeability of PMs
is similar to that of air. With those PMs buried inside the magnetic
circuit of the rotor, the saliency causes an additional reluctance
torque, which leads to facilitating a wider speed range at
constant power operation.
 Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) have been recognized to
have considerable potential for EV and HEV applications.
Basically, they are direct derivatives of single-stack, variable
reluctance stepping motors.
o SRMs have definite advantages of simple construction, low
manufacturing cost, and outstanding torque–speed
characteristics for EV and HEV applications.
o Although they possess simplicity in construction, this does
not imply any simplicity of their design and control. Because
of the heavy saturation of pole tips and the fringe effect of
pole and slots, their design and control are difficult and
subtle.
3.3.4 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE (ICE)
An ICE in a hybrid vehicle is required to produce electricity or
hydraulic pressure depending on the drive train technology (traction
motors) deployed. The exception are the serial hybrids. They need to

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 have some of the traditional characteristics intact as the engine is
required to supplement the electric traction motors in driving the
vehicle and in some applications drive the vehicle fully without electric
assistance. This means the engine is not the only source of power and
therefore can be smaller and driven, when it is powered on, in its most
efficient operations range. All the variability needed due to terrain or
traffic can be handled by the traction motors.

3.3.5 TORQUE CONVERTER

The torque converter is a fluid coupling device that is used to
transmit motion from the engine to the transmission input shaft. It is
capable of multiplying the engine torque (acting as a reduction gear),
and, unlike most other mechanical joints, provides extremely high
damping capabilities, since all torque is transmitted through fluid
dynamic forces rather than friction or pressure. It is traditionally used
in vehicles with automatic transmissions as a launching device,
because it allows for large speed differences between its two shafts
while multiplying the input torque.

Figure 6 Schematic representation of a torque converter

3.3.6 GEAR RATIOS AND MECHANICAL GEARBOX

Gearings are purely mechanical components, with no control, that
change the speed and torque transmitted between two shafts without
altering the power flow. In practice, however, losses due to friction occur and
reduce the output power with respect to the input power.

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 Figure 7 Schematic representation of a gear coupling

3.3.7 PLANETARY GEAR SETS

Planetary gear sets are composed by three rotating elements (sun,
carrier, and ring) which are connected by internal gears (planets); stopping
one of the three shafts generates a fixed gear ratio between the remaining
two. Planetary gears are commonly used in traditional automatic
transmissions because they allow for compact construction and smooth gear
transition. They are often present in hybrid electric vehicles to realize
electrically variable transmissions (EVTs) by connecting the engine and two
electric machines to the three shafts of the gear set.

Figure 8 Schematic representation of planetary gear set

3.3.8 WHEELS, BRAKES, AND TIRES

The wheel represents the link between the powertrain and the external
environment. Its model includes the motion of the wheel and the effect of
the brakes, calculating the forces at the interface between tire and road
surface. The tractive force is calculated given the powertrain torque, the
brake signal and the vertical load on the wheel.
Engine Accessories and Auxiliary Loads
The engine powers several auxiliaries, such as air conditioning, power
steering, alternator for small electric loads, etc.

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Dept. of EE, Laxmi Institute of Technology, Sarigam