In this paper, the authors designed a surface permanent magnet (SPM)-type vernier motor whose maximum output is more than 5.2 kW, whose power factor at 4 kW is more than 90%, and whose efficiency at 4 kW is 85% under the conditions that the operating voltage, frequency, and synchronous speed are 400 V, 50 Hz, and 100 min-1, respectively.

This paper proposes a new design of rotor shape of Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (IPMSM) used for agricultural electric vehicle (AEV). The distribution of the residual magnetic flux density at the air gap is modified by rotor surface shape and V-type magnet angle. As a result, cogging torque and physical characteristic have been improved, and back electromotive force (back-EMF) of the suggested model has been improved to be closest to sine wave form compared to initial model. The validity of the proposed rotor shape optimization is confirmed by the manufactured IPM rotor core and measured the performance of the cogging torque.

Permanent magnet (PM) motors that employ rare-earth magnets containing dysprosium (Dy) are used in electric and hybrid electric vehicles. However, it is desirable to reduce the amount of Dy used since it is expensive. This study investigates the rotor structure of a PM synchronous motor with a Dy-free rare-earth magnet. Flux barrier shapes and PM thicknesses that enhance the irreversible demagnetization are investigated. In addition, a rotor structure that improves the irreversible demagnetization is proposed. We demonstrate that the proposed rotor structure without Dy improves the irreversible demagnetization.

It is important to improve the efficiencies of motors to overcome problems such as decreasing energy reserves and environmental pollution. Superconductors are promising for developing high-efficiency motors. However, superconducting wires must be kept in critical conditions and the AC loss needs to be minimized. In this paper, a design of a superconducting interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) is proposed that reduces the AC loss. The characteristics of superconducting and normal-conducting IPMSMs are compared. The proposed superconducting IPMSM has a low AC loss and a very high efficiency at low speeds.

Reduction of electromagnetic vibration and acoustic noise from three-phase squirrel-cage induction motors (IMs) is very important, particularly from the standpoint of environmental considerations. Although the electromagnetic vibration of IMs has been studied for several years, the relationships between the radial distribution of the electromagnetic vibration and noise and the electromagnetic forces responsible for them have not yet been analyzed in sufficient detail. In the present study, we investigated this relationship experimentally for a small IM under different load conditions. Our results clearly show that the radial distributions of the dominant electromagnetic vibration and noise components match the mode shape of the dominant electromagnetic force producing these components.

Difficulty of torque measurements in high-speed permanent magnet (HSPM) motors has necessitated the development of improved torque calculations. Hence, this paper presents an analytical torque calculation of a high speed permanent magnet (HSPM) motor based on the power factor angle. On the basis of analytical magnetic field solutions, the equations for circuit parameters such as back-emf and synchronous inductance are derived analytically. All analytical results are validated extensively by non-linear finite element (FE) calculations and measurements. The internal angle (${\delta}$) between the back-emf and the phase current is calculated according to the rotor speed by using analytical circuit parameters and the measured power factor because this angle is not measured but estimated in case of sensorless drive of the HSPM motor, significantly affecting torque calculation. Finally, the validity of the torque analysis method proposed in this paper is confirmed, by showing that the torque calculated on the basis of the internal angle is in better agreement with the measurements.

This paper presents the iron loss prediction of rotating electric machines taking account of the vector hysteretic properties of electrical steel sheet. The E&S vector hysteresis model is adopted to describe the vector hysteretic properties of a non-oriented electrical steel sheet, and incorporated into finite element analysis (FEA) for magnetic field analysis and iron loss prediction. A permanent magnet synchronous generator is taken as a numerical model, and the analyzed magnetic field distribution and predicted iron loss by using the proposed method is compared with those from a conventional method which employs an empirical iron loss formula with FEA based on a non-linear B-H curve. Through the comparison the effectiveness of the presented method for the iron loss prediction of the rotating machine is verified.

This paper discusses to conduct experimental verification of two types of micro electric vehicles (EV) in order to realize improvement in electric mileage and shorten a charging time of the battery. First, electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) systems to use as a secondary battery are proposed. The internal resistance of EDLC is small compared with a rechargeable battery, and it is suitable for momentary charge-discharge of EV. Next, control circuits of the capacitors to increase the regenerative electric power are utilized. Then, a novel method to charge a main battery of the EV is introduced. Finally, experimental results demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.

This paper report on experimental results of 5-level inverter by DC divided link voltage. We have alreday reported that DC divided link valtage comes to be able to reduse harmonic of out line voltage. So we tested whether DC divided link voltage can reduce harmonics in experimental setup. This paper shows simulation results and experimental results. And we confirmed that DC divided link voltage can also apply in experimental setup.

This paper proposes a method for improving the performance of a position sensorless control system for a slotless surface permanent magnet synchronous motor (SPMSM) in a very low-speed region. In position sensorless control based on a motor model, accurate motor parameters are required because parameter errors would affect position estimation accuracy. Therefore, online parameter identification is applied in the proposed system. The error between the reference voltage and the voltage applied to the motor is also affect position estimation accuracy and stability, thus it is compensated to ensure accuracy and stability of the sensorless control system. In this study, two voltage error compensation methods are used, and the effects of the compensation methods are discussed. The performance of the proposed sensorless control method is evaluated by experimental results.

It presents a unification of buck-boost and flyback converter for driving a cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter with a single independent DC voltage source. Cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter is useful to make many output voltage levels for sinusoidal waveform by combining two or more H-bridge modules. However, each H-bridge module needs an independent DC voltage source to generate multi levels in an output voltage. This topological characteristic brings a demerit of increasing the number of independent DC voltage sources when it needs to increase the number of output voltage levels. To solve this problem, we propose a converter combining a buck-boost converter with a flyback converter. The proposed converter provides independent DC voltage sources at back-end two H-bridge modules. After analyzing theoretical operation of the circuit topology, the validity of the proposed approach is verified by computer-aided simulations using PSIM and experiments.

Cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter requires independent DC voltage sources to produce multi output voltage levels. When it needs to generate more levels in the output voltage wave, the number of independent DC voltage sources usually limits its extension. To solve this problem, we propose a cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter employing a front-end flyback converter for unifying input DC voltage sources. After theoretical analysis of the proposed circuit, we verify the validity of the proposed inverter using computer-aided simulations and experiments.

This paper proposes a SEPIC-input, self-driven, active clamp ZVS converter, where an auxiliary winding and a RC delay circuit are employed to drive the active clamp switch and to achieve asymmetrical duty control without any other extra circuits. Based on the fixed dead time and the resonance between capacitors and inductors, both the main switch and the auxiliary switch can rule the ZVS operation. Detailed operation modes are presented to illustrate the self-driven and ZVS principles. Furthermore, an accurate state-space model and the transfer functions of the proposed converter have been presented and analyzed in order to optimize dynamic performance. The model provides efficient prediction of converter operations. Experimental results, based on a prototype with 80V input and 15V/20A output, are discussed to verify the transient and steady performance of the proposed converter.

This paper describes dual inverter drive for a fractional-slot concentrated winding permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM). PMSMs are widely used in many applications from small servo motors to few megawatts generators thanks to its high efficiency and torque density. Especially, fractional-slot concentrated winding PMSM is very popular in the applications where wide operation range is required because it shows very wide constant power speed ratios. High speed operation, however, requires lots of negative daxis current for reducing back-EMF regardless of output torque. Field weakening current does not contribute to the torque generation in surface mounted PMSM case and causes inverter and copper loss. To reduce the losses from field weakening current, this paper proposes PMSM with split stator and parallel dual inverter drive. Proposed parallel dual inverter drive reduces back-EMF and enables efficient drive at high speed and light load situation. Control strategy of proposed dual inverter system is established through loss analysis and simulation. Proposed concept is verified with practical experiment.

Low voltage ride through capability augmentation of a hybrid micro-grid system is presented in this paper which reflects enhanced reliability in the system. The control scheme involves parallel connected multiple ac-dc bidirectional converters. When the micro-grid system is subjected to a severe voltage dip by any transient fault single power converter may not be able to provide necessary reactive power to overcome the severe voltage dip. This paper discusses the control strategy of additional power converter connected in parallel with main converter to support extra reactive power to withstand the severe voltage dip. During transient fault, when the terminal voltage crosses 90% of its pre-fault value, additional converter comes into operation. With the help of additional power converter, the micro-grid system withstands the severe voltage fulfilling the grid code requirements. This multiple converter scheme provides the micro-grid system the capability of low voltage ride through which makes the system more reliable and stable.

The vehicle system is a multi-domain system that requires many branches of science and engineering. Therefore the development of the vehicle system requires the use of design methodologies that utilize simulations, which have grown increasingly sophisticated in recent years. Our research group proposed a simulation modeling method based on the VHDL-AMS language. This paper describes how VHDL-AMS is used to model of vehicle fuel consumption simulation. The fuel consumption is shown using proposed simulation model on the Japanese 10-15 mode. We examine the influence of the vehicle system with electrical load and hill climb resistance in the vehicle running resistance.

Modern electric controlled valves are demanded that its solenoid actuator should be smaller size, lighter weight, lower consumption power, and higher response time. For achieving these purposes, the major design factors of solenoid actuator such as magnetic flux density, coil turn numbers, plunger size, bobbin dimension, and etc. are must be optimized. In this study, for optimal design of high speed solenoid actuator for hydraulic servo valve operation, we draw up governing equations which are composed by combination of electromagnetic theories and empirical knowledge, and deduct the values of major design factors by use of them. For more increase the operating speed, voice coil are used as main armature in manufacturing of prototype actuator. And, we have proven the propriety of the governing equations and speed increasing method by experiments using the hydraulic valve assembly adopted the prototype of solenoid actuator.

The Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) with full bridge cells is available for utility interactive inverter in high voltage line. When it is interconnected with power line, it is possible to control the active power flow in order to supply or charge the power in the line. This research applied the MMC to grid connection system of distributed generator and a power flow control for the MMC is investigated. Theory of power flow between the MMC and the power line is described and control method of power flow and capacitor voltages on arm cells for the MMC are proposed. And effectiveness of the proposed control method is presented by simulation.