E-Bike Motor Drive: A Review of Configurations and Capabilities

Abstract

In recent years, the mobility sector is undergoing a revolution, which is resulting also into a worldwide spread of light electric vehicles, such as electric scooters and bicycles. The increasing public concern about environmental problems further feeds this revolution. Electric-bicycles (or e-bikes) are a new trend which fits different riders’ needs. In fact, they offer extended range and ease of use, allowing riders to travel in urban centres, but also to take longer trips. E–bikes are reliable, easy to ride, affordable, and they help people live and travel a little greener, with a great benefit for their health. Many Companies (such as Brose, Bafang, Bosch and Shimano) developed performing e-bike motor drives. However, there is not a detailed general procedure to help the choice and design of electric bikes, in particular concerning the electric machine. This review focuses on the analysis of different motors for e-bike application. First, the e-bike system state of art is presented. The pedal-assist and power-on-demand e-bike system typologies are presented, together with the most popular parallel configuration and the less common series configuration. Further on, the environmental resistances are analysed for a traditional bicycle system and then the force balance is extended to the electric vehicle example. The most common Lithium-ion battery and the battery management system state of art is discussed, presenting design schemes and typical performances. Concerning the electrical machine, some electromagnetic design approaches are described, together with some data on commercial motors. Finite element analysis of a common motor model is carried out and some experimental tests are presented to highlight their capabilities. Different control strategies are compared, including innovative solutions and new trends.

Design and optimization of a high-performance multi-barrier IPMS motor for an electric scooter and bicycle

“…In parallel with the developments in the fields of materials and electronics, there are increasing numbers of studies on EVs [1][2][3][4][5][6]. In particular, the developments in battery technology have accelerated these studies and made them more compelling.…”

Battery Passports for Second-Life Batteries: An Experimental Assessment of Suitability for Mobile Applications

“…Boat [76] Electric golf cart and motorcycle [77] Heavy duty [78] Mobile charging station [79] Compared to stationary ones, a limited number of articles have presented performance requirements for mobile uses [48,80]. To fill this gap in the literature, the requirements for certain uses were estimated on the basis of usage profiles shared in the literature [81].…”

“…Conclusions of the matching assessment between the battery passport and several mobile application needs. Data from[48,[79][80][81].…”

Improving Torque Analysis and Design Using the Air-Gap Field Modulation Principle for Permanent-Magnet Hub Machines

“…A commercial PM hub machine in [4] for e-bike is selected as the benchmark and shown in Figure 1a, in which the 12-slot/10-pole combination and interior PM (IPM) type are adopted. In this section, the red, green, and blue windings always correspond to phase A, phase B, and phase C, respectively.…”

“…Due to increasing concerns about energy security and environmental impact, traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines are likely to be phased out in the future [1][2][3]. The electrification of transportation has become a key development trend, and such a revolution in mobility extends to light electric vehicles such as electric scooters and bicycles [4]. Permanent Magnet (PM) hub machines have attracted much attention due to their advantages of high efficiency, reliability, and compact structure [5].…”