Analysis and Design Techniques Applied to Hybrid Vehicle Drive Machines-Assessment of Alternative IPM and Induction Motor Topologies

In this paper, different analysis and design techniques are used to analyze the drive motor in the 2004 Prius hybrid vehicle and to examine alternative spoke-type magnet rotor (buried magnets with magnetization which is orthogonal to the radial direction) and induction motor arrangements. These machines are characterized by high transient torque requirement, compactness, and forced cooling. While rare-earth magnet machines are commonly used in these applications, there is an increasing interest in motors without magnets, hence the investigation of an induction motor. This paper illustrates that the machines operate under highly saturated conditions at high torque and that care should be taken when selecting the correct analysis technique. This is illustrated by divergent results when using I-Psi loops and dq techniques to calculate the torque.