Current Sensorless Direct Voltage Control of Surface Mounted Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Driven Electric Vehicles

Fast and accurate response, quick recovery from various disturbances, simplicity, reliability, and cost-effectiveness are essential features of an efficient motor drive system for electric vehicles (EVs). Thus, this paper introduces a simple current sensorless direct voltage control scheme for a surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor (SPMSM) propelling an EV. The designed method provides a promising alternative to cascaded-based control strategies, such as field-oriented control (FOC), by directly varying the amplitude and angle of the voltage vector while excluding measurements of current and inner regulation loops. Such a methodology drastically reduces the complexity and tuning time of the control system and mitigates the delays resulting from cascaded control schemes. It also ensures better reliability since it does not require current sensors. The performance of the developed strategy is investigated using commonly adopted driving cycles, namely the Federal Test Procedure (FTP75) and the World Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP). An intensive comparison against FOC is established based on the driving cycles employed.