Electronic Differential Optimization for Electric Vehicle Full Model for In-Wheel Permanent Magnet Brushless DC Motors

Abstract

The intervention of in-wheel motors in Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), for improved overall efficiency, has led to seek for a replacement of the mechanical differential in conventional rear-wheel drive vehicles. Electronic differentials (ED) aim to synchronize inner and outer wheel rotations during vehicle cornering. In the present work, a mathematical model of the electronic differential is presented. The controller gains were optimized to minimize the motors energy consumption so that two constraints were considered; minimized wheel slippage and avoidance of motor torque saturation. The study included a full-vehicle modeling, three-phase brushless DC (BLDC) motor modeling and the controller design. The results and analysis presented showed an improved electronic differential performance and reduced energy consumption.