Improving efficiency through the optimization of energy losses in an induction machine for electric vehicle propulsion

Research into industrial electricity consumption reveals that electric motors are the main actuators accounting for overall consumption expenditure. This underlines the importance of minimizing and optimizing the consumption of these electric motors, to the benefit of industry and, above all, contributing to environmental preservation. We present a strategy for improving efficiency by optimizing energy losses in an induction machine for electric vehicle propulsion. This involves incorporating a speed controller and a flux reference trajectory generator. The proposed control strategy dynamically adjusts the flux reference in real time, with the aim of minimizing the currents consumed by the machine and subsequently reducing losses, such as Joule losses due to currents and iron losses due to flux. The performance of the proposed control strategy is explicitly analyzed, as is its superiority to other strategies with fixed flow references. The effectiveness of the proposed controls has been verified by simulations and experimentally on a three-phase asynchronous motor. As an application, the optimal control of an asynchronous motor, fed by an inverter, is proposed for the propulsion of electric vehicles. The reduction in current demand on the machine controlled by optimal control means lower current consumption by the vehicle's batteries.