Design Characteristics of the Induction Motor Used

for Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Wang Tiecheng, Zheng Ping, Zhang Qianfan, Cheng Shukang
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Harbin Institute of Technology
Harbin, P.R. CHINA
zhengping@hit.edu.cn


AbstractDesign characteristics of the induction motor used for
HEV (hybrid electric vehicle) are discussed. Equivalent circuits
corresponding to the starting, operating performance and
harmonics are given. The selecting rules of the starting voltage
and frequency are got. The relations between the iron core and
copper loss vs. frequency are analyzed and compared. The
influence of harmonics on the induction motor is analyzed. The
design principles of the induction motor used for HEV are given
considering the impacts of the starting, operating performance
and harmonics.
Keywords-design; harmonics; induction motor; operating
performance; starting performance
I. INTRODUCTION
Induction motors are used in HEVs (hybrid electric
vehicles) very early because of its simple structure, low price,
reliable operation and mature control technique. Before the
1990s, people paid much attention to the inverter and control
strategy, whereas the motors were not redesigned for the using
of the inverter. So the induction motor system normally had the
problem of high loss, low efficiency, low power factor and low
usage factor of the inverter, which is more serious for the high-
speed, large-power motor. After the 1990s, this problem was
taken into consideration, and people did much research on the
design principle of the induction motors used for HEV [1]-[6].
The design theory of the induction motors used for HEV is
discussed in the paper.
II. DESIGN THEORY OF THE INDUCTION MOTOR USED FOR
HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE BASED ON THE STARTING
PERFORMANCE
The starting performance of the induction motor is one of
the most important performances that should be considered
seriously. In the traditional induction motor supplied with
industrial frequency power, deep-slot or double-cage rotor is
often adopted to decrease the starting current and increase the
starting torque.
The induction motor used for HEV is supplied by inverter,
which is different from the case of traditional motor. The
typical mechanical characteristic of the induction motor used
for HEV is shown in Fig. 1, where
N
f is the base frequency.
Below the base frequency, the motor has a constant torque
characteristic, and above the base frequency, it has a constant
power characteristic. Normally at the base frequency the
voltage supplied to the motor is rated or near rated one.
The equivalent circuit of the induction motor at the
variable-frequency starting is shown in Fig. 2. If the starting
frequency is
st
f , the coefficient k in Fig. 2 is
N
st
f
f
k = . (1)
Since the alternating frequency of the magnetic field is very
low at starting, the iron core loss is little. So the iron core loss
resistance
m
R can be neglected. Thus Fig. 2 can be simplified
as Fig. 3, where
2 m
R and
2 m
X are the equivalent parallel
resistance and reactance of the magnetizing and rotor branch
circuit respectively.
From Fig. 3, the starting current of the induction motor at
the variable-frequency starting is
( ) ( )
2
2 1
2
2 1 m m
st
st
X kX R R
U
I
+ + +
=

. (2)
The starting torque is

T
0
f f
N

Fig. 1. The typical mechanical characteristic of the induction motor used
for HEV
We would like to thank Chinese 863 project Jiefang brand hybrid electric
city bus motor and control system 2001AA501522 for supporting the work.
EML 2004 523 0-7803-8290-0/04/$20.00 2004 IEEE.
1
R
1
kX
m
R
m
kX
'
2
R
'
2
kX
st
U

st
I

Fig. 2. The equivalent circuit of the induction motor at the variable-
frequency starting
1
R
1
kX
st
U

st
I

2 m
R
2 m
X

Fig. 3. The simplified equivalent circuit of the induction motor at the
variable-frequency starting
N
m st
st
kf
R mpI
T

=
2
2
2
. (3)
Where m is the phase number of the motor.
Normally the starting current is controlled as the rated
value, and the starting torque is controlled as the maximum
one. The starting frequency can be deduced by differentiating
(3),
N
m
st
f
X X
R
f
'
2
'
2

+
= . (4)
The starting voltage can be obtained from (2),
( ) ( )
2
2 1
2
2 1 m m st st
X kX R R I U + + + =

. (5)
From the above analysis, we can see that the low-starting-
current high-starting-torque objective can be obtained for the
inverter fed induction motor used for HEV by applying suitable
starting voltage and frequency, and the rotor resistance is not
determining factor any more, so we do not need to increase the
rotor resistance to improve the starting performance.
The deeper the rotor slot is, the more the leakage flux is, the
more the rotor leakage reactance is, which will decrease the
power factor of the starting and low-speed operating. Therefore
from the angle of improving the starting performance, the
advantage of deep-slot and double-cage induction motor does
not exist. Shallow and wide slot motor is more suitable for the
inverter drive.
III. DESIGN THEORY OF THE INDUCTION MOTOR USED FOR
HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE BASED ON THE OPERATING
PERFORMANCE
Traditional induction motor operates at the speed
determined by the industrial frequency, i.e. rated speed, so the
motor design normally focuses on this speed. The performance
around rated speed is mainly considered, whereas that at other
speeds can be neglected. The induction motor used for HEV is
quite different from the traditional one. It needs to operate at
variable loads and wide speed scope, with the operating
frequency varying from zero to several hundred Hertz. The
operating frequency is wide.
Because of the high operating frequency, the iron core loss
cannot be neglected, and the equivalent circuit is shown in Fig.
4.
With the increase of the operating frequency, the skin effect
is more and more serious. The stator resistance
1
R and the
equivalent rotor resistance
'
2
R increase, the copper losses of the
stator and rotor increase.
The iron core loss corresponding to the operating frequency
1
f is
3 . 1
1
2
1
1
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
N
Fe Fe
f
f
f
E
C P . (6)
Where
Fe
C iron core loss constant.
2
1
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
N
N
FeN
Fe
f
E
P
C (7)
Where
FeN
P iron core loss at rated frequency;
N
E
1
stator back emf (electromotive force) at rated
frequency.
The iron core loss resistance is
7 . 0
7 . 0
1
2
1
3
f mN
N FeN
N
m
k R
f
f
P
E
R =
|
|
.
|

\
|
= . (8)
1
R
1
X
m
R
m
X
s
R
'
2
'
2
X
1
U

1
I

'
2 1
E E

= Fe
I
m
I

'
2
I

Fig. 4. Equivalent circuit at variable-frequency operating
EML 2004 524 0-7803-8290-0/04/$20.00 2004 IEEE.
Where
f
k the ratio of stator frequencies,
N
f
f
f
k
1
= ;
mN
R iron core loss resistance at rated frequency,
FeN
N
mN
P
E
R
2
1
3
= .
Since the operating characteristic of the induction motor
used for HEV consists of constant-torque and constant-power
stages, different control strategies should be used for different
stages. At constant-torque stage, the electromagnetic torque can
be expressed as
a m T m T em
I C I C T
2 2 2
cos = = . (9)
Where
T
C torque coefficient;
m
air-gap fundamental flux per pole;
2
I rotor phase current;
2
phase difference that the rotor current lags the rotor
emf;
a
I
2
active component of rotor phase current.
To assure the constant torque with the changing of the
inverter frequency,
m
and
a
I
2
should be constant. To make
m
constant,
1
1
f
E
should be constant. To make
a
I
2
constant,
rotor frequency
2
f should be constant.
At constant-power stage, the electromagnetic power of the
motor can be approximately expressed as
s E
R
m
s
R
mE
P
em
2
1 '
2
'
2
2
1
= = . (10)
If we assume
1
E is equal to
1
U , (10) can be expressed as
s U
R
m
P
em
2
1 '
2
= . (11)
In (11), m is constant, and
'
2
R changes slightly. To assure
constant-power performance, the supplied voltage
1
U and slip
s should be constant.
The design principle of the induction motor used for HEV
should be adjusted according to the above characteristics. With
the increase of the frequency, the resistances of the stator and
rotor both increase because of the skin effect, so multi turns of
thin enameled wires in parallel can be adopted for the stator
winding, and shallow slot can be adopted for the rotor to
weaken the skin effect.
With the increase of the operating frequency, the iron core
loss resistance
m
R increases. At constant-torque stage,
constant
1
1
=
f
E
, so the iron core loss increases with the increase
of the frequency, i.e. at base speed the iron core loss reaches its
maximum. At constant-power stage, since
1
U is not changed,
1
E can be considered as unchanged, and therefore the iron core
loss decreases with the increase of the frequency, i.e. it also
reaches its maximum at base speed. The curve of the iron core
loss vs. frequency is shown in Fig. 5.
At constant-torque stage, to assure
m
constant, the
current
m
I should be kept constant, and meanwhile the rotor
current should be kept constant. So the stator current remains
constant, and the copper losses of the stator and rotor change
slightly. At constant-power stage, since
1
U remains
unchanged, the stator current is approximately unchanged, so
the stator copper loss is approximately unchanged too. Since
the slip s is fixed, the rotor copper loss does not change.
During the whole operating period, the copper loss varies
slightly with the changing of the frequency.
It can be seen that the iron core and copper losses have
different varying characteristics with the change of the
operating frequency. When we design a motor, the maximum
efficiency can be gained by making the iron core and copper
losses close. In order to improve the efficiency at the whole
operating region, we can make the iron core loss more than the
copper loss near base speed, and make the copper loss more
than the iron core loss at low and high speeds.
The maximum torque of the motor is
( )
(

+ + +

=

2
'
2 1
2
1 1
2
1
1
max
2
2
cX X R R c
U
f
mp
T . (12)
Where
m
X
X
c

+
1
1 .
As can be seen from (12), with the increase of the
operating frequency, the resistance of the stator and the
leakage reactance of the stator and rotor increase, which
makes the maximum torque decrease, and the overload ability

P
Fe
f
1
f
N
0

Fig. 5. The curve of the iron core loss vs. frequency
EML 2004 525 0-7803-8290-0/04/$20.00 2004 IEEE.
of the motor decrease. Thus when the motor is designed, some
methods should be found to decrease the resistance of the
stator and the leakage reactance of the stator and rotor. The
formerly mentioned method of multi turns of thin enameled
wires in parallel can be adopted to decrease the stator
resistance. The decrease of the rotor leakage reactance can be
gained by adopting shallow and wide rotor slot on the basis of
assuring the rotor teeth flux density. It can be seen from the
equivalent circuit that the decrease of the leakage reactance
can improve the power factor of the motor.
IV. THE IMPACT OF HARMONICS ON INDUCTION MOTOR
DESIGN
When the induction motor is fed by inverter, the current is
not absolutely sinusoidal, but contains some harmonics.
The resultant 3-phase fundamental mmf (magnetomotive
force) can be expressed as
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
(

(

+

+ =

=
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 1
1
240 cos 240 cos
120 cos 120 cos
cos cos 9 . 0
i
i i
i
i i
i
i i
w
i
i t i I
i t i I
t i I
p
k W
f
. (13)
Some discussions are made to (13):
(1) When K i 3 = ( K is integer),
0
1
=
i
f . (14)
(2) When ( ) 1 3 = K i ,
( )
i i
w
i
t i I
p
k W
f + = cos 35 . 1
1
1 1
1
. (15)
This mmf is a spatial backward fundamental mmf that is
sinusoidal distribution, and has synchronous speed
1
in (
p
n

=
2
60
1
) and pole pair p . The slip is
1
1
in
n in
s
i

=
( n is the rotor speed). The produced torque is a braking torque.
(3) When ( ) 2 3 = K i ,
( )
i i
w
i
t i I
p
k W
f = cos 35 . 1
1
1 1
1
. (16)
This mmf is a spatial forward fundamental mmf that is
sinusoidal distribution, and has synchronous speed
1
in and
pole pair p . The slip is
1
1
in
n in
s
i

= . The produced torque is a
driving torque.
The harmonic equivalent circuit at variable-frequency
operating is shown in Fig. 6.
1
R
1
iX
m
R
m
iX
'
2
R
'
2
iX
'
2
1
R
s
s
i
i

i
U

i
I
1

mi
I

'
2i
I

Fig. 6. The harmonic equivalent circuit at variable-frequency operating
The asynchronous additional torque produced by the ith
harmonic voltage is

= /
1
3
'
2
'
2
R
s
s
I T
i
i
i emi
( ) K i 3 . (17)
Where is the rotor speed. When ( ) 1 3 = K i ,
emi
T is a
braking torque; when ( ) 2 3 = K i ,
emi
T is a driving torque.
Because some methods have been used to weaken the low
order harmonics when the inverter is designed, the existing
harmonics are high order ones whose synchronous speed is
much higher than that of the fundamental magnetic field.
Therefore serious torque ripple will not occur when the driving
and braking asynchronous additional torque is added to the
fundamental asynchronous torque.
The braking asynchronous additional torque will produce
braking loss, and the harmonic current will produce copper loss
in the stator and rotor windings. These two losses form the
harmonic loss. In addition, the harmonic magnetic fields of
different orders interact in the space to produce ripple torque
whose magnitude is in direct proportion to the magnitude
product of these harmonic mmfs. It can be seen that the
existence of harmonic currents is disadvantageous to induction
motor, which should be overcome.
When the induction motor is fed by voltage-type inverter,
the amplitude of high-order harmonic current is in inverse
proportion to the leakage reactance of the stator and rotor, so
the leakage reactance of the stator and rotor should be
increased from the angle of restraining harmonic current. For
the stator, magnetic slot wedge can be used. On the one hand,
the stator leakage reactance can be increased, and on the other
hand, high-order air-gap harmonic magnetic fields can be
decreased. For the rotor, closed slots or half closed slots can be
adopted to increase the rotor leakage reactance and decrease
the high-order air-gap harmonic magnetic fields. In addition,
for the slot combination, the numbers of stator and rotor slots
should be increased and be close with the number of rotor slots
less than that of stator slots to decrease the influence of
harmonics.

EML 2004 526 0-7803-8290-0/04/$20.00 2004 IEEE.
V. CONCLUSIONS
1. Since the low-starting-current high-starting-torque
objective can be obtained for the inverter fed induction
motor by applying suitable starting voltage and frequency,
the advantage of deep-slot and double-cage induction
motor does not exist. Shallow and wide rotor slot induction
motor is more suitable for HEV.
2. With the increase of the operating frequency, the
resistances of the stator and rotor both increase because of
the skin effect, so multi turns of thin enameled wires in
parallel can be adopted for the stator winding, and shallow
slot can be adopted for the rotor to weaken the skin effect.
3. With the increase of the operating frequency, the iron core
loss increases first, and then decreases. At base speed, the
iron core loss reaches its maximum value. The copper loss
varies slightly with the changing of the frequency. The iron
core loss should be more than the copper loss near base
speed and the copper loss should be more than the iron
core loss at low and high speeds to improve the efficiency
at the whole operating region.
4. Suitable leakage reactance should be chosen to consider
the influences of variable-frequency and harmonics
simultaneously. Magnetic slot wedge used for the stator
and closed or half closed slots used for the rotor can
restrain the influence of harmonics.
5. For the slot combination, the numbers of stator and rotor
slots should be increased and be close with the number of
rotor slots less than that of stator slots to decrease the
influence of harmonics.
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[2] Dong-Hyeok Cho, Hyun-Kyo Jung, and Cheol-Gyun Lee, Induction
motor design for electric vehicle using a niching genetic algorithm,
IEEE Trans. on Industry Applications, Vol. 37, pp994-999, 2001.
[3] Tadeusz Stefanski, and Stawomir Karys, Loss minimisation control of
induction motor drive for electrical vehicle, IEEE, pp952-957, 1996.
[4] K. S. Smith and L. Ran, A time domain equivalent circuit for the
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EML 2004 527 0-7803-8290-0/04/$20.00 2004 IEEE.