Design Approaches and Control Strategies for Energy-Efficient Electric Machines for Electric Vehicles - A Review

The market penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) is going to significantly increase in the next years and decades. However, EVs still present significant practical limitations in terms of mileage. Hence, the automotive industry is making important research efforts towards the progressive increase of battery energy density, reduction of battery charging time, and enhancement of electric powertrain efficiency. The electric machine is the main power loss contributor of an electric powertrain. This literature survey reviews the design and control methods to improve the energy efficiency of electric machines for EVs. The motor design requirements and specifications are described in terms of power density, efficiency along driving cycles, and cost, according to the targets set by the roadmaps of the main governmental agencies. The review discusses the stator and rotor design parameters, winding configurations, novel materials, construction technologies as well as control methods that are most influential on the power loss characteristics of typical traction machines. Moreover, the paper covers: i) driving cycle based design methods of traction motors, for energy consumption reduction in real operating conditions; and ii) novel machine topologies providing potential efficiency benefits.