Pulse Width Modulation Analysis of Five-Level Inverter- Fed Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors for Electric Vehicle Applications

Abstract

In recent times, intense research has been focused on the performance enhancement of permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) for electric vehicle (EV) applications to reduce their torque and current ripples. Permanent magnet synchronous motors are widely used in electric vehicle systems due to their high efficiency and high torque density. To have a good dynamic and transient response, an appropriate inverter topology is required. In this paper, a five-level inverter fed PMSM for electric vehicle applications, realized via co-simulation in an electromagnetic suite environment with a reduced stator winding current of PMSM via the use of in-phase disposition (PD) pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques as the control strategy is presented. The proposed topology minimizes the total harmonic distortion (THD) in the inverter circuit and the motor fed and also improves the torque ripples and the steady-state flux when compared to conventional PWM techniques. A good dynamic response was achieved with less than 10A stator winding current, zero percent overshoot, and 0.02 second settling time synchronization. Thus, the stator currents are relatively low when compared to the conventional PWM. This topology contribution to the open problem of evolving strategies that can enhance the performance of electric drive systems used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), mechatronics, and robotic systems.