Nowadays, the greatest part of the effort to reduce pollution emissions is directed toward the hybridization of automotive drive trains. In particular, the design of hybrid vehicles requires a complete system analysis, including the optimization of the electric and electronic devices installed on the vehicle and the design of all the mechanical connections between the different power sources to reach the required performances. The aim of this paper is to describe the design and prototype realization of a plug-in hybrid electrical vehicle (PHEV). Specifically, an energetic model was developed in order to analyze and optimize the power flux between the different parts. This model was experimentally validated using a prototype PHEV. In addition, in order to improve the driving range in an all-electric model (all-electric range), a detailed analysis of the inverter control was performed, because this component is one of the key components of the power train. In order to reduce inverter losses and dimensions, several control methods can be adopted. In this paper, a direct self-control strategy for reducing the inverter losses is presented and validated

The dynamic interaction between a pantograph and a catenary influences the quality of the current collection; in particular, when two pantographs are used to collect current, the second pantograph is subjected to the disturbances originated on the overhead line by the transit of the first pantograph, generally causing a deterioration of current collection quality. Under these conditions, the occurrence of continuous sparking, contact loss, and arcing cause an increase of wear for both contact wire and collector strips, but also cause variations of contact voltage and feed current that in turn produce interferences on the on-board electrical systems like drive motors and signalling system. In order to investigate the latter, a procedure for the correlation of the quality of current collection with the level of electrical interference is proposed in this article. The procedure is based on experimental and numerical models combining relationships obtained by means of laboratory tests with simulation tools. An application to a real case of double pantograph collection is presented.

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The Field Oriented Controlled algorithm needs accurate estimation of motor state variables in order to ensure full torque and power performance. Good control results are strongly related to parameter values used by observers or estimators' algorithms, which vary according to the machine working conditions and the temperature. The most important parameter is the rotor resistance. The paper shows and compares two different MRAS rotor resistance estimators, based on reactive power and motor torque, studied by means of a sensitivity analysis for different load and speed operating conditions. A nonlinear correction algorithm has been proposed in order to assure a good rotor resistance estimation convergence. Since the algorithm has to be implemented on an electrical vehicle inverter, it has been defined taking into account that it has to operate under dynamic conditions, the typical situation occurring during a drive cycle. Sensitivity analysis, simulation and experimental results are reported for the proposed methods.Index Terms--Adaptive algorithm, full electric vehicle, online rotor resistance estimation, MRAS approach, induction motor, field oriented control, sensitivity analysis. I. NOMENCLATUREs v Stator voltage s i Stator current s ψ Stator flux r ψ Rotor flux s R Stator resistance r R Rotor resistance r R ∆ Error between estimated and real rotor resistance M Mutual inductance ks L Total leakage inductance n Pole-pairs number T Torque Q Motor reactive power x e Error between real and estimated value of the generic variable x s θ ɺ Reference frame angular speed (synchronism speed) θ ɺ Mechanical angular speed (at magnetic field) m Ω Mechanical angular speed (at shaft, / m n θ Ω = ɺ ) r θ ɺ Absolute rotor slip speed ( r s θ θ θ = − ɺ ɺ ɺ ) F. L. Mapelli is with the γ Angle between the stator current and the rotor flux space vectors ( ) h ℑ Imaginary part of a generic complex number h j Imaginary unit p Derivative symbol II. INTRODUCTION NDUCTION motors are widely used in railway [1] and in Electrical Vehicles (EV) [2]-[4] traction applications due to their simplicity, robustness, reliability and low cost. The IM-based electrical drives are usually controlled according the Field Oriented Control (FOC) technique [5]-[7], which allows to control the speed and torque by means of flux and current regulation. In Fig. 1 the overall block diagram of the rotor flux sensored FOC scheme for an IM is presented. This classic control scheme has been chosen for its robustness and for its capability to work in full-field conditions. Since some of the quantities reported in the control scheme are not directly measurable, observers or estimators are needed. In order to work properly, these algorithms require the value of some motor parameters, which often cannot be exactly identified and may vary during the operation, especially because of temperature fluctuations. The most critical parameter is the rotor resistance, because the effectiveness of the control is strictly related to it, as well explained in [8]. Therefore, in order t...