Summary of electric vehicle dc motor-controller tests

Available performance data for production motors are usually of marginal value to the electric vehicle designer. To provide at least a partial remedy to this situation, tests of typical dc propulsion motors and controllers were conducted as part of the DOE Electric Vehicle Program. The objectives of this program were to evaluate the differences in the performance of dc motors when operating with chopper-type controllers and when operating on direct current; and to gain an understanding of the interactions between the motor and the controller which cause these differences. Toward this end, motor-controller tests performed by the NASA Lewis Research Center provided some of the first published data that quantified motor efficiency variations for both ripple-free (straight dc) and chopper modes of operation. Test and analysis work at the University of Pittsburgh explored motor-controller relationships in greater depth. And to provide additional data, 3E Vehicles tested two small motors, both on a dynamometer and in a vehicle, and the Eaton Corporation tested larger motors, using sophisticated instrumentation and digital processing techniques. All the motors tested were direct-current types. Of the separately excited types, seven were series wound and two were shunt wound. One self-excited permanent magnet type was also tested. Four of the series wound motors used brush shifting to obtain good commutation. In almost all cases, controller limitations constrained the test envelope so that the full capability of the motors could not be explored.