Design and Analysis of IPM BLDC Motor with
Regenerative Braking for Traction Applications
Project Report Phase 1
Submitted by
M. Mohanraj
ID No : 40121963
1. Introduction:
Huge amount of energy is wasted in transportation Industry. [1] The
traditional combustion engine uses hydraulic braking technology. [2] This technology
has lots of wastage energy. The use of regenerative braking systems in electric
vehicles has been able to overcome many of the disadvantages of the traditional
hydraulics braking system. In urban settings, regenerative braking recycles about half
of the total brake energy. [3] Less popularity of electric vehicle is due to its limited
range. The regenerative braking extends electric vehicle range by 10-25%. This is
due to the recovery of energy that hydraulic braking loses through heat. [4]
Regenerative braking is still limited and depends on uncontrollable variables.
However it has various benefits a proper implementation of regenerative braking
system extends driving range, improves braking efficiency, reduces brake wear, and
improves energy conservation. [5] The movement of vehicle depends on Newton’s
Second Law “Acceleration of an object depends on the net force exerted on it”. A
vehicle moves forward with the help of force provided by propulsion unit and which
also overcomes the resistant forces due to air, gravity and tire resistance.
Acceleration and speed of vehicle depends on the power and torque available from
the traction unit.
2. EV Powertrain Component Sizing
The force from the propulsion unit, which can be an electric motor or an IC engine or
a combination of the two, is known as tractive force, FTR.
Acceleration = Composite Mass of the Vehicle + Propulsion Unit + All Mechanical
and Electrical Components + Batteries
Fig.1. Battery Powered Electric Vehicle
Truck Weight (Curb) Unloaded = 14000 lb (6350 kg)
Pay Load = 17970 lb (8150 kg)
Overall Length: 245 inches
a. Acceleration:
A = V\t
Where V is velocity and t is time.
The truck is assumed to be operating at 40Km/hr, hence the acceleration can be
calculated using the above formula. Here the acceleration needs to be kept constant
as it’s a slope. Let us assume the values as follows.
A= 2.27 𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠 2
b. Tractive Force.
Let us find the approximate rating of an EV powertrain with a vehicle weight of 3175
kg. First, let us determine the forces needed to accelerate at 0.7406 m/s2, assuming
that aerodynamic, rolling, and hill-climbing force counts for an extra 10% of the
needed acceleration force.
𝐹𝐹𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 1.1* mass * acceleration
Where 𝐹𝐹𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 is the tractive force.
𝐹𝐹𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 1.1 ∗ 8150 * 2.27
20350.479 N
c. Energy Required:
𝑉𝑉 2
Energy required = mass*
2
11.112
= 8150 *
2
= 502985.80 J
d. Time Required to Accelerate to 40Km/hr :
11.11 𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠 2
Time =
2.27 𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠 2
Let us have the approximate time as = 4 s
e. Average Power
Average power = force * distance/seconds = energy/time
Average Power = Energy / Time
Average Power = 502985.80 / 4
Average Power = 125739.7 = 125 kW
3. Resistive and Acceleration Forces of a Vehicle :
Fig.2. Vehicle Model
The Fig. 2 shows the vehicle model of the traction system [6].
a. Aerodynamic force:
Consider the vehicle with the following:
• Aerodynamic drag coefficient 0.109
• Air density 1.16 kg/m3
• Frontal area 1.543m2 (or 16.6 ft2)
Then the aerodynamic force at 40 km/h) is
Fad = 0.5 * 1.16 * 0.109 * 1.543 * 11.111= 35 N
b. Rolling resistance:
Consider the vehicle with a rolling coefficient of 0.02. Thus the rolling
resistance force is
Frr = 0.02 * 8150 * 9.8 = 1597 N
c. Hill-climbing resistance
Consider the vehicle with a grade of 45◦.
Thus the Hill-climbing force is
Frg = mg * sin α = 8150* 9.8 * sin 5◦ = 6961.12 N
4. Motor Size and Specifications:
In traction application, the IPM (Interior Permanent Magnet Machines) are the
best candidate. The motor specifications and the ratings are depicted below. The
specifications of the requirement with the approximate values are considered for
the simulation.
Fig.3. IPM Machine
Table I
Motor Specifications
S.No Machine Type Values Unit
1 Total Length 400 mm
2 Outer Diameter 220 mm
3 Continuous Power 120 kW
4 Peak Power 180 kW
5 No of Slots 48 -
6 No of Poles 8 -
7 Winding Type Distributed -
8 Cooling Air Cooled -
5 Rated Speed 5500 RPM
6 Minimum Current 320 A
7 DC Voltage Range 530- 725 V
5. Battery Pack Size and Specifications:
In the second method, the average discharge power (Pavg) is known and is
determined by the equation, (Run Time * Pavg) # of series batteries * Battery W-
hr = # of parallel batteries.
The maximum total electric power required for vehicle acceleration from 0 to 60
mph in 11 seconds is,
1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
(𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑓𝑓𝑟𝑟 + 2 𝑃𝑃𝑎𝑎 𝐶𝐶𝑑𝑑 𝐴𝐴𝑓𝑓 𝑉𝑉 2 + 𝑚𝑚𝛿𝛿 )𝑉𝑉
𝑃𝑃𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
1000𝜘𝜘𝑡𝑡 𝜘𝜘𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
Based on the above calculation, the net peak power of the battery system is found
to be 180 kW. The vehicle mass is found to be 8150 kg.
Range EPA
644 km
Range NEDC
N/A
Range WLTP
N/A
Battery pack capacity
180 kWh
Max charging power (AC)
11 kW
Max charging power (DC)
160 kW
Avg. charging speed (DC)
~401 km/h
6. Charger and Power Electronics Specifications:
The Bidirectional DC-DC converters (BDC) plays a vital role in the operation of
motor drives for electric vehicle. Bi directional DC-DC converters helps in both
motoring operations and regenerative operations. The battery is used to supply
the motor in the motoring operation, and it is also used to recover the kinetic
energy of the motor during regenerative operation. Analytical calculations and
supporting equations will be presented. Also, the comparison of output voltage
ripple with and without capacitor will be analyzed.
S.No Type No’s
1 Power Electronic Switches 4
2 Inductor Filter 1
3 Capacitor Filter 2
4 Switching Frequency 15kHz
7. References :
1. M. Brown, "Studies of Regenerative Braking in Electric Vehicle," Physics 240, Stanford
University, fall 2016.
2. M. K. Yoong, et al., "Studies of Regenerative Braking in Electric Vehicle",
IEEE 5686984, 20 Nov 10.
3. L. Li et al., "Analysis of Downshift's Improvement to Energy Efficiency of an Electric
Vehicle During Regenerative Braking," Appl. Energy 176, 125 (2016).
4. N. D. Lakshmi et al., "Energy Efficient Electric Vehicle Using Regenerative Braking
System," International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovations in
Technology 3, 155 (2017).
5. Regenerative Braking, Juan Leis-Pretto, submitted as course work for PH240, Stanford
University, Fall 2017.
6. Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Principles and Applications with Practical Perspectives by
Chris Mi, M. Abdul Masrur and David Wenzhong Gao.
