Design and implementation of an electric drive system for in-wheel motor electric vehicle applications

This paper presents the design and application of a hub drive system for Hybrid (HEV) and All Electric Vehicles (EV). Initially Matlab SIMULINK model of a hub driven hybrid electric vehicle is developed and the performance values are calculated. Two 15 kW brushless dc machines (BLDC) are designed and manufactured to be located inside the rim of the wheels. The performance tests of these wheels are conducted in laboratory environment. Then, two separately driven rear wheels are mounted to Fiat Linea vehicle. The mechanical differential is replaced by an electronic control technique, which bases upon the detection of the angle of steering wheel. A CAN bus communication is established between the control system of electric drive and Electronic Control Unit (ECU) of the vehicle. The concerted action between electrically driven rear-wheels and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) driven front axle is achieved. Finally some preliminary road tests are executed and encouraging test results are obtained. The design optimizations between ICE, Electric Drive and Battery Power for various drive cycles are investigated.