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In this work, a multilevel 42-sided polygonal space vector structure for suppression of lower order harmonics for open-end induction motor (OEIM) drive applications is proposed. The proposed power circuit topology consists of two inverters feeding an OEIM from either side. The main inverter fed with a single dc-link providing active power for motoring operation is switched at low switching frequency. The secondary inverter fed with a capacitive supply is switched at high frequency to suppress lower order harmonics upto 39th order, up to the base speed of operation allowing maximum utilization of the dc-link. The advantages of lower order harmonic suppression in motor phase voltage, for polygonal space vector structures, are combined with multilevel inverter topology. This offers various advantages like multilevel operation with low inverter switching for the main power delivery inverter and harmonic suppression throughout the modulation range. The low switching frequency primary inverter generates harmonics of the order $6*k \pm 1$ , where $k = 1, 2, 3,{\ldots }$. The harmonics are suppressed by the capacitor-fed secondary inverter, which supplies only reactive power for suppression of lower order harmonics in motor phase voltage. Use of a single dc-link facilitates four-quadrant operation of the inverter. The proposed scheme is validated for steady-state and dynamic performance by experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the requirements for reducing emissions and improving fuel economy, automotive companies are developing electric, hybrid electric, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Power electronics is an enabling technology for the development of these environmentally friendlier vehicles and implementing the advanced electrical architectures to meet the demands for increased electric loads. In this paper, a brief review of the current trends and future vehicle strategies and the function of power electronic subsystems are described. The requirements of power electronic components and electric motor drives for the successful development of these vehicles are also presented. Index Terms--Electric machines, electric vehicles, fuel-cell vehicles, hybrid vehicles, motor drive, plug-in hybrid vehicles, power electronics, propulsion systems, vehicle strategy.

Fuzzy logic-based on-line efficiency optimization control has been described in the literature for an indirect vector-controlled induction motor drive. The purpose of this paper is to extend the same control to a stator flux-oriented electric vehicle induction motor drive and then implement the fuzzy controller by a dynamic back propagation neural network-based controller. The principal advantage of fuzzy control, i.e., fast convergence with adaptive step size of the control variable, is retained. The neural network adds the advantage of fast control implementation, either by a dedicated hardware chip or by digital signal processor (DSP)-based software. Index Terms - Drive, efficiency, fuzzy logic, induction motor, neural network.

SiC MOSFET can operate at a junction temperature of 200–250  ^\circ C due to its improved material properties and thermal stability. However, successful realization of SiC MOSFET based high-temperature (HT) converter requires HT gate drivers. This paper presents a low-cost HT gate driver developed with discrete transistors and signal diodes rated at 180–200 ^\circ C. The gate driver has a robust overcurrent and undervoltage lock out protection circuit. The propagation delay of the protection circuit and gate driving circuit is greatly reduced compared to commercial HT gate drivers. A comparative analysis of the developed HT gate driver using discrete components and the commercially available silicon-on-insulator technology based HT gate driver is presented. The performance of the HT gate driver is evaluated for both hard switched fault and fault under load condition at an ambient temperature of 180  ^\circ C. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses reports published within the issue including research and development and future trends in the areas of automotive power electronics and drives and a comprehensive system review of electric, hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.