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Single-tooth motors could bite into the EV market

09 July, 2013

“Previously, electric motors in this power range were produced by medium-sized companies in quantities of a few thousand per year,” says Prof Dr-Ing Dieter Gerling from the University. “In the automotive industry, we are looking at quite different numbers, which means that costs become much more significant.

“This industry has a lot of experience in cost management”, he adds. “In principle this, of course, also applies to power electronics and battery technology.”

As well as developing the electric motor, the FEAAM and University teams have also been optimising the vehicles’ power electronic circuits, motor controls and wiring systems. Again, they have ideas for optimising efficiencies at part-loads. In all of these areas there is still a great potential for improvement, says Gerling.

•  As part of the development programme, the German researchers have been measuring currents and voltages using transducers in each phase of their motors. In this way, they can identify any asymmetries. As well as making efficiency measurements, they record torque/speed characteristics, and use this data to optimise their mathematical models. Because rotor resistances – and thus losses – increase with temperature, they are held constant using a cooling liquid and monitored using a thermal imaging camera.

The researchers have been taking measurements for different driving cycles. For power and efficiency measurements, they have been using Yokogawa power analysers. The measured values, including torque and speed and the resulting efficiency, are transferred automatically to an Excel spreadsheet.




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