Simulation based analysis of regenerative DC motor drives for vehicular power systems

Motor drive control circuitry is now potentially being explored for its immense importance in the design of electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) with regards to their integration in a smart grid environment. Both AC and DC drives have been studied for vehicular propulsion systems with DC drives being more active in the sense of their simplicity, reliability and low cost design. The goal of this paper is to attempt a simulation based analysis to highlight the usefulness of regenerative (multi-quadrant) DC motor drives based propulsion systems for applications in electric and hybrid electric vehicles. The paper, with the help of simulations, also discusses useful dimensions of torque control of DC motor in order to make it an effective asset for electric vehicle applications.