Efficiency Improvement of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors Using Model Predictive Control Considering Core Loss

The highway cycle is an important consideration in the EV’s new European driving cycles (NEDCs) range, as the steady-state efficiency improvement in such conditions can be greatly beneficial. In the model predictive control (MPC) of the permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs), the predicted next-step feedback reference generated by the equivalent circuit model (ECM) will contribute directly to the voltage vector selection, therefore influencing the performance of the motor control. In the current MPC scheme, when the conventional ECM is applied, it only considers copper loss, and the core loss is usually disregarded. In some circumstances, such as the highway cycle of EVs, the motors are at high speed, the torque is low, and the core loss can be significant in the losses, thus affecting the accuracy of control and the efficiency of the system; hence, the introduction of core loss ECM into the MPC would be beneficial. This paper aims to investigate the steady-state efficiency improvement of a novel ECM of PMSM considering core loss ECM, and the comparison will be based on model predictive direct torque control (MPDTC) using the core loss ECM, which will be compared to MPDTC with the conventional ECM of the PMSM. The results demonstrate the proposed ECM’s efficiency improvement in various conditions, the limitations of the model and the simulation are discussed, and future work is proposed.