There is a growing attention to the electric vehicle in automotive
industry to have sustainable transportation in future.
In-wheel technology is a modern propulsion system in electric
vehicles. Selection proper motor for high performance EV
to achieve maximum efficiency and safety is essential. In
this paper, DC brushed, induction, brushless DC (BLDC) and
switched reluctance motors and their respective controllers are
simulated and compared with respect to in-wheel requirements
in two various normal and critical (electric faults and abrupt
mechanical shocks). BLDC is recommended for drive train
of electric vehicles due to better torque/speed characteristics,
higher efficiency, higher dynamic response, high output power
to size ratio, higher operating life and noiseless operation.
PWM technique is simulated to control speed of BLDC
motor. A PI controller is employed to define duty cycle of
PWM signal according to speed error. Various PWM switching
modes of BLDC motor are compared under normal and
inverter fault (open and short circuit of upper side switch of
phase A leg of inverter) conditions. PWM switching mode
3 (all inverter switches are chopped) is more robust during
fault compare to other two modes. But BLDC motor has
better characteristics with other two PWM switching modes
under normal condition. Fault tolerant systems are effective
solutions to detect, prevent or handle different type of faults
in motor drives. But regarding safety issue which is vital factor
in electric vehicles, as result of comparisons PWM switching
mode 3 is recommended for BLDC motor in automotive
applications.