Finite Elements Model Co-Simulation of an Induction Motor Drive for Traction Application

This paper presents the results obtained by the finite elements model co-simulation technique in the transient analysis of an electric drive for advanced traction applications. The case study refers to a 200kW induction motor drive designed for a premium electric vehicle in the frame of the Horizon 2020 “ReFreeDrive” project (Rare earth Free e-Drives featuring low cost manufacturing). The transient performance and the operating limits are evaluated when a field-oriented control strategy based on the lumped parameters model of the machine is used. The co-simulation involves the ANSYS/Simplorer and MATLAB/Simulink environments. The finite element motor model developed in ANSYS is controlled by the rotor flux-oriented controller with axes decoupling built in Simulink. A lumped parameters motor model is also derived to design the control parameters and implemented in Simulink for comparison respect to the co-simulation approach. The results highlight the influence of the controller detuning for the correct prediction of the voltage limit operation at steady state.