Characterization and improved control of a brushless DC drive with in-wheel motor

The paper deals with a brushless DC drive belonging to the propulsion system of an innovative light electric vehicle. The drive consists of an in-wheel motor fed by a voltage-controlled inverter. At first, the parameters of the motor and the mechanical characteristics of the drive are measured; the latter results are supported by a formulation of the torque-speed equations. Afterwards, a novel strategy for the voltage control of the drive during the commutations is presented, intended to eliminate the torque ripple and the decrease in the available torque due to the commutations. Improvement in the drive performance achieved with the novel strategy is documented by simulation.