Proposal of Wireless Charging Method and Architecture to Increase Range in Electric Vehicles

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) face a major issue before becoming the norm of society, that is, their lack of range when it comes to long trips. Fast charging stations are a good step forward to help make it simpler for EVs, but it is still not as convenient when compared to vehicles with an internal combustion engine (ICE). Plenty of infrastructure changes have been proposed in the literature attempting to tackle this issue, but they typically tend to be either an expensive solution or a difficult practical implementation. This dissertation presents two solutions to help increase the range of EVs: a novel wireless charging method and a multi-motor architecture for EVs. The first proposed solution involves the ability for EVs to charge while en route from another vehicle, which will be referred to from here on as vehicle-to-vehicle recharging (VVR). The aim of this system is to bring an innovative way for EVs to charge their battery without getting off route on a highway. The electric vehicle can request such a service from a designated charger vehicle on demand and receive electric power wirelessly while en route. The vehicles that provide energy (charger vehicles) through wireless power transfer (WPT) only need to be semi-autonomous in order to engage'' or disengage'' during a trip. Also, a novel method for wireless power transfer will be presented, where the emitter (TX) or receiver (RX) pads can change angles to improve the efficiency of power transmission. This type of WPT system would be suitable for the VVR system presented in this dissertation, along with other applications. The second solution presented here will be an architecture for EVs with three or more different electric motors to help prolong the state of charge (SOC) of the battery. The key here is to use motors with different high efficiency regions. The proposed control algorithm optimizes the use of the motors on-board to keep them running in their most efficient regions. With this architecture, the powertrain would see a combined efficiency map that incorporates the best operating points of the motors. Therefore, the proposed architecture will allow the EV to operate with a higher range for a given battery capacity. The state-of-the-art is divided into four subsections relevant to the proposed solutions and where most of the innovations to reduce the burden of charging EVs can be found: (1) infrastructure changes, (2) device level innovations, (3) autonomous vehicles, and (4) electric vehicle architectures. The infrastructure changes highlight some of the proposed systems that aim to help EVs become a convenient solution to the public. Device level innovations covers some of the literature on technology that addresses EVs in terms of WPT. The autonomous vehicle subsection covers the importance of such technology in terms of safety and reliability, that could be implemented on the VVR system. Finally, the EV architectures covers the current typologies used in EVs. Furthermore, modeling, analysis, and simulation is presented to validate the feasibility of the proposed VVR system, the WPT system, and the multi-motor architecture for EVs.