Design of an integrated motor/controller drive for an automotive water pump application

This paper addresses key technical issues in the design of an integrated motor/controller drive unit for which the electric motor, its electronic controller, and load (a pump impeller) are all combined into a single structural assembly. A cost-based trade-off study is described that includes five different types of brushless machines, leading to the selection of an interior PM synchronous machine as the preferred prime mover for this application. The physical configurations of the motor and the controller were designed in order to minimize weight and volume while maximizing their cooling effectiveness. Several key issues associated with the controller design are described, including the physical layout of key components, the development of the EMI filter to meet automotive specifications, and analysis of worst-case component temperature rises using finite-element thermal analysis.

[1]  Thomas M. Jahns,et al.  Impact of saturation and inverter cost on interior PM synchronous machine drive optimization , 1999, Conference Record of the 1999 IEEE Industry Applications Conference. Thirty-Forth IAS Annual Meeting (Cat. No.99CH36370).

[2]  H. Couëtouse,et al.  Cooling System Control in Automotive Engines , 1992 .

[3]  S. Parler.  Thermal modeling of aluminum electrolytic capacitors , 1999, Conference Record of the 1999 IEEE Industry Applications Conference. Thirty-Forth IAS Annual Meeting (Cat. No.99CH36370).

[4]  J.D. Van Wyk,et al.  Power electronics technology at the dawn of the new millenium-status and future , 1999, 30th Annual IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference. Record. (Cat. No.99CH36321).

[5]  Edward Carl Francis Lovelace.  Optimization of a magnetically saturable interior permanent-magnet synchronous machine drive , 2000 .

[6]  John G. Kassakian.  Automotive electrical systems-the power electronics market of the future , 2000, APEC 2000. Fifteenth Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (Cat. No.00CH37058).

[7]  Thomas A. Lipo,et al.  A general approach to sizing and power density equations for comparison of electrical machines , 1996 .

[8]  Timothy J. E. Miller,et al.  Brushless Permanent-Magnet and Reluctance Motor Drives , 1989 .

[9]  Thomas A. Lipo,et al.  A comparison of power density for axial flux machines based on general purpose sizing equations , 1999 .

[10]  D. Giacomini,et al.  A new fully integrated power module for three phase servo motor driver applications , 2001, Conference Record of the 2001 IEEE Industry Applications Conference. 36th IAS Annual Meeting (Cat. No.01CH37248).