Design of A Five-Phase Propulsion Motor and Associated Controller Using Fuzzy Logic for Underwater Electric Vehicle

Abstract

In this paper, it is proposed to use a Brushless DC (BLDC) Motor of five phases as the propulsion motor for an Underwater Electrical Vehicle, which will have the advantages of reduced operational and mechanical noise, a longer lifespan (no brush and commutator erosion), and of higher reliability for underwater application. This BLDC motor will be controlled using Fuzzy Logic Controllers (FLCs), which get the speed and current feedback from the motor. The output of FLCs controls the DC/AC Converter, providing input power to the propulsion motor to generate the required torque and speed, thereby controlling the propulsion mechanism of an Underwater Electric Vehicle. The paper includes a simulated working of the propulsion system under MATLAB ©/SIMULINK © environment using a Fuzzy logic controller, which has improved performance over other controllers.