28553 - Electric Drives

Learning outcomes

Know and understand the fundamentals of static and electromechanical conversion systems.

Learn the configuration of basic power electronic conversion systems, of main electrical machines, either direct current (DC) or alternate current (AC) and of electric drives used in automotive sector.

Learn topology, control principles, input and output characteristics of main DC and AC electric drives.

Develop the ability to model power electronic converters, control system, electrical machines, and full drive systems with reference to application for torque and speed control.

Develop the ability to represent an electric drive in terms of energetic conversion system, for the integration in a multiphisic model of a vehicle.

Course contents

Fundamentals of electromechanical conversion systems and fundamentals of electrical machines.

Revision of electromagnetic fields and EM field equations. Revision on ferromagnetic materials and permanent magnets. Current transformer.

DC machines

Topology and types of DC machines.

Fundamental equations and output mechanical characteristic. Steady state performance. Drives on one, two, four quadrants. Cooling of the machine. Control schemes.

Brushless machines with trapezoidal back emf. Drive topology. Principle of operation and control. Output mechanical characteristics. Performance limitation.

Brushless machine with sinusoidal back emf.

Drive topology. Structure of the machine with surface and internal mount magnets.

Introduction to Clarke and Park coordinate transformation. Equation of sinusoidal brushless machine. Reluctance torque. Basic control scheme. Flux-weakening principle.

Principle of static conversion.

DC/DC basic converter topology. One, two and four quadrant configuration. PWM modulation. Current regulator.

Readings/Bibliography

For study:

The didactic material distributed by the teacher: copy of slides, files and description of the used numerical models.

For the personal deepening of contents:

Stefanos Manias “Power Electronics and Motor Drive System”. Academic Press ISBN: 0128117982

Teaching methods

The course includes: theoretical lectures made with the aid of multimedia systems. The didactic material is uploaded before each lecture

Training and laboratory activities related to the realization of numerical model of selected energetic conversion systems and of a simple electric drive suitable for automotive application

Assessment methods

The exam includes both a project development and an oral test.

The project consists of the development of an electric drive which model is developed using numerical simulation tools introduced during training activity. The text of the project will be delivered to students during classes and will be presented at the exam.

The oral test is composed by two parts: 1) presentation of the developed project and validation of the obtained results. 2) testing the knowledge of the theoretical course content.

Teaching tools

PC with Matlab Simulink. 

Office hours

See the website of Claudio Rossi