MULTIDIMENSIONAL INVESTIGATION OF THERMAL BEHAVIOR OF HIGH-POWER ELECTRIC VEHICLE MOTOR DURING ON-ROAD DRIVING CONDITIONS THROUGH ELECTROMAGNETIC, THERMAL, AND DRIVE CYCLE ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study addresses the critical need to understand the thermal behavior of electric motors in real-world driving conditions, which is crucial for the global transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and for achieving sustainable energy goals. The real-world driving conditions include acceleration and deceleration, resulting in speed variations, and existing research often limits its scope to constant speed conditions, potentially providing misleading results. As existing research predominantly confines itself to constant speed conditions, our study fills this gap by investigating temperature variations during on-road driving scenarios, utilizing the SAE J227 drive cycle as a benchmark. Based on recent studies, we consider the design parameters of an appropriate EV motor and subject the developed model to thermal and fluid flow analyses. The impact of confinement on motor temperature rise is also explored for potential temperature reduction, contributing up to 4 percent temperature reduction. The drive cycle-based study indicated that running the motor at a constant speed yields a considerably lower temperature rise (<i>&#916;T</i> &#60; 74&deg;C) than actual driving conditions. In contrast, temperatures in actual driving scenarios could exceed 136&deg;C within similar durations. This study looks into the actual heating challenges faced by electric motors used in EVs by integrating analyses from electrical, thermal, and transportation engineering.