Power Sharing and Voltage Vector Distribution Model of a Dual Inverter Open-End Winding Motor Drive System for Electric Vehicles

A drive system with an open-end winding permanent magnet synchronous motor (OW-PMSM) fed by a dual inverter and powered by two independent power sources is suitable for electric vehicles. By using an energy conversion device as primary power source and an energy storage element as secondary power source, this configuration can not only lower the DC-bus voltage and extend the driving range, but also handle the power sharing between two power sources without a DC/DC (direct current to direct current) converter. Based on a drive system model with voltage vector distribution, this paper proposes a desired power sharing calculation method and three different voltage vector distribution methods. By their selection strategy the optimal voltage vector distribution method can be selected according to the operating conditions. On the basis of the integral synthesizing of the desired voltage vector, the proposed voltage vector distribution method can reduce the inverter switching frequency while making the primary power source follow its desired output power. Simulation results confirm the validity of the proposed methods, which improve the primary power source’s energy efficiency by regulating its output power and lessen inverter switching loss by reducing the switching frequency. This system also provides an approach to the energy management function of electric vehicles.