Analyzing the Torque Transfer between Two In-Wheel Motors of an Electric Vehicle

In this paper, an Electric Vehicle (EV) powertrain formed of two in-wheel motors is studied using a dedicated testing bench. Such a solution has the advantage of simplifying the EV powertrain by eliminating the mechanical differential, the gearbox, and the clutch. On the other hand, controlling the system and particularly the stability of the EV requires thorough control of the two motors by controlling permanently the torque transmitted to each wheel. An initial analysis was performed using numerical simulation. Subsequently, a test bench comprising two in-wheel motors mechanically connected was developed. The motors were driven using PWM inverters and provided independent command signals for each drive. A variable torque amount was applied to each motor surveying the resulting vehicle speed and the behavior of each motor.