Heriot-Watt University

School of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Course Name: Electrical Power and Machines
Course Code: B38EI

Project Title : A Review of Different Motor Types and its

Applications in Electric Vehicles
Programme : Mechanical Engineering 2021-2022 (B38EI)

Name : Balveen Singh Gill

HW ID : H00357374

Campus : Heriot Watt University Malaysia

Final Marks:

Declaration of Own Work

I, ( Balveen Singh Gill ), hereby declare that this assignment is my own work, has never
received third party service to gain any academic advantage. The material that I used in this
assignment have been properly cited and acknowledged with appropriate referencing styles as
recommended by the university.

Your Balveen Singh

name:

Signature:
Date: 26/02/2022

Table of content

Page 1 of 20
1.0 Introduction 3
2.0 General review of motors
2.1 Induction motor 4
2.1.1 Construction of inductor motor 5
2.1.2 Working principle of inductor motor 6
2.1.3 Equivalent circuit of inductor motor 7
2.1.4 Performance characteristics of induction motor 8
2.1.4.1 Slip
2.1.4.2 Frequency
2.1.4.3 Synchronous speed
2.1.4.4 Motor current
2.1.4.5 Motor power
2.1.4.6 Motor torque
2.1.5 Advantages of induction motor
2.1.6 Disadvantages of induction motor
2.2 Universal motor
2.2.1 Construction of universal motor
2.2.2 Working principle of universal motor
2.2.3 Winding arrangement of universal motor
2.2.4 Performance characteristics of universal motor
2.2.4.1 Back electromotive force
2.2.4.2 Motor power
2.2.4.3 Motor torque
2.2.4.4 Voltage around the circuit
2.2.5 Advantages of universal motor
2.2.6 Disadvantages of universal motor
2.3 Servo motor
2.3.1 Construction of servo motor
2.3.2 Working principle of servo motor
2.3.3 Performance characteristic of servo motor
2.3.3.1 Speed
2.3.3.2 Motor Torque
2.3.4 Advantages of servo motor
2.3.5 Disadvantages of servo motor
3.0 Selection of motor for electric vehicles

Page 2 of 20
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Reference

1.0 Introduction
With all the excitement around the trending of electric vehicles today, it's understandable
if it’s mistook for a recent creation. However, the first electric car was created long before
Elon Musk announced Tesla Motor Car in 2003.
Moving onto concept of electric vehicles, an electric vehicle is either partially or fully
powered on electric power which are battery electric vehicles (BEV) or plug-in Hybrid
electric vehicles (PHEV). BEVs which have can be charged overnight at residence and
provides ample of range for most trips comparing it to an internal combustion engine, BEVs
have way more fewer moving parts that needs maintenance.
On the other hand, hybrid electric car combines battery and gasoline power which them
better for long-distance driving as drivers can switch to fuel that powers the car instead of
having to find charging stations every now and then. Over the past decade, the popularity of
electric cars has gained tremendously as the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of
internal combustion engine vehicles. For example, electric vehicles have low running and
maintaining cost as well as environmentally friendly. It uses lithium-ion batteries which
produces higher energy retention and good efficiency. [1]
Nevertheless, the challenges faced by electric vehicles are with the batteries such as thermal
runaways which has caused fires and explosions. This poses a big risk to new buyers based of
the non-guarantee of safety of the buyer.
Lastly, an electric vehicle is equipped with a few major parts such as batteries which store
the electricity to run an electric vehicle while motor provides power to rotate the wheels. The
type of motors commonly used in electric vehicles are alternating current (AC). The electrical
energy stored in battery when charged is converted into mechanical energy when flowed to
the motor.

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2.0 General reviews of motors
An electric vehicle is not possible without motors to move with a certain speed and
examples of the commonly used motors in the electric vehicle industry is the Induction
motor, Universal motors and Servo motors.
2.1 Induction motors
Starting off with the first, an induction motor also known as an asynchronous motor, is a
widely used due to its low cost, simple construction and good regulation speed. There are two
types of induction motors which is a single-phase induction motor which is a non-self-
starting motor and a three-phase induction motor where it is a self-starting motor with the
absence of commutator.[3]

2.1.1 Construction of induction motors

The construction of this motor consists of two important parts which are the stator and the
rotor. A stator winding is placed in a stationary frame, stator while a rotor is the rotating part
which is connected to load with by shaft.
In a 3-phase induction motor, the rotor determines what type of induction motor is present.
A squirrel cage rotor produces a squirrel cage induction motor while a wound rotor produces
a wound induction motor.[3]

Wound type stator & rotor Squirrel cage stator & rotor

Table 1: Type of stator & Rotors

The other parts that make up the induction motor are the ball bearings to rotate the rotor, slip
rings which inserts resistance into rotor windings and cooling fans for air circulation

Page 4 of 20
 Figure1: Construction of induction motor

2.1.2 Working principle of induction motor

An induction motor which rotates on alternating current (AC) works differently from a
direct current (DC) motor. A DC motor is supplied with 1 supply of current to the stator
unlike the AC motor which has multiple supplies of current to the stator and the rotor
according to phase.
Based on induction motor, an electromagnetic induction process is involved in motor. The
AC is supplied to the stator winding, and it will produce a magnetic field where different
polarities causes magnetic field to rotate. The stationary conductor of rotor will then cut the
rotating magnetic field of stator causing electromagnetic current induced in the rotor.
As the induced current flows through coils of the rotor, another magnetic field is produced
and due to magnetic field present in stator and rotor, the rotor will rotate in direction of
magnetic field in asynchronous speed with the stator and a high torque is produced. [3]
Therefore, electromagnetic induction is produced as stated when an electromotive force
induced is placed in a rotating magnetic field.

2.1.3 Equivalent circuit of induction motor

The working principle of an induction motor is the same as a rotating transformer. Hence,
an equivalent circuit of induction motors is:

Page 5 of 20
 Figure 2: Equivalent circuit of induction motor

Figure 3: Simplified equivalent circuit of induction motor

In the equivalent circuit,

Symbol Representation
R1 Resistance of stator winding
R2 Resistance of rotor winding
X1 Stator leakage reactance which is the flux
X2 Reactance of rotor winding which depends on
frequency of motor

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 Xm magnetising reactance that is required to cross the
air gap
Rc core losses such as hysteresis and eddy current
Table 2: Representation of symbol in equivalent circuit

2.1.4 Performance characteristics

2.1.4.1 Slip
The difference between the motor synchronous speed (ns) and the actual motor speed (nr) is
known as the slip(s).[4] Slip expressed in percentage is:

2.1.4.2 Frequency
From winding, the relationship between frequency(f), synchronous speed(ns) and number of
pole pairs (p) can be represented as:

The frequency of rotor(fr) is the speed difference between rotor and stator with number of pole
pairs(p):

2.1.4.3 Synchronous speed

The synchronous speed(ns) in revolutions per second is:

Page 7 of 20
Total rotor flux speed(sns) and the rotor speed itself (nr) which is:

2.1.4.4 Motor current (Is)

The motor current (Is) can be calculated by dividing the voltage(V1) of the AC provided to
the induction motor with the equivalent impedance (Zeq) giving:

Therefore, as the rotor(nr) speeds up, the slip(s) reduces causing circuit impedance(Zeq) to
increase and stator current (Is) decrease.

2.1.4.5 Motor power

The power input into a motor is:

The power loss due to the windings is:

Page 8 of 20
where Is the motor current, (R1) is the rotor circuit resistance and (R’2) is the stator circuit
resistance

2.1.4.6 Torque

Torque(T) of motor is power output (P) multiplied by angular velocity(w) and it can be
calculated by:

Angular velocity, w formula is:

Therefore, final formula of torque:

Page 9 of 20
2.1.6 Advantages of induction motor
In the past, DC motors were used in industrial applications but over time AC motors
specifically induction motor out ruled most of the other motors. This is due to induction motors
built to be simple and durable as it is capable of operating in any environmental condition.
Brushes and commutators which are often replaced are not used in induction motors making it
less expensive as well requires less maintenance compared to other motors.
Furthermore, as it does not have brushes which causes sparks and high damaging rate,
hence can be operated in explosive and hazardous environments. It is also a much simpler to
construct and cheaper in cost and unlike synchronous motor, a 3-phase induction motor can
self-start with a high torque, has a good speed regulation and overload capacity.

2.1.7 Disadvantages of induction motor

There aren’t many disadvantages of induction motor which weigh it down but as they say,
‘in every good u will find a bad’. To start off, one of not many disadvantages of induction
motor is the efficiency drops at low loads as this is due to the high current being drawn from
the low power factor of the motor. A low power fact is because at the start, the motor draws a
large magnetising current to overcome the reluctance by air gap between the stator and rotor.
This will lead to a higher stator and rotor copper loss causing maintenance to be higher than
usual.
Moreover, single phase induction motors have low starting torques which limits it from being
used for application which require high powered torque devices such as lifting loads.

2.2 Universal motors

A universal motor is a special type of motor which is designed to run on either DC or
single-phase AC supply at the same seed and output. The motor is like a DC motor, but it is
significantly modified to allow it to run on AC supply. These motors are generally built to a
device which drives as they run on dangerously high speed with no load. This works well as
the current will alternate between field coils and the armature synchronously. Therefore, a
consistent direction rotation will occur based of the polarity of field coils and commutator.
Moreover, universal motors have high starting torque which allows it to run at high speeds
and are also compact and light. Example of applications of it is a blender, power drill tool and
a vacuum cleaner. Furthermore, they are two types of universal motor which is a
compensated type and a non-compensated type.

Page 10 of 20
 Non compensated type Compensated type

A universal motor creates a magnetic field with an electromagnet as its stator. The stator
field coils are connected in series with the rotor windings through a commutator.

2.2.1 Construction of universal motors

Figure 4: Build of universal motor

The construction of universal motor is like DC motor. The only thing that changes is the
polarity of power supply. This motor is made up of more parts than an induction motor. For
example:
Type of part Function
Stator core Made of laminated steel where field poles
are mounted on it and used to support inner
parts
Stator winding Also known as field winding which are
mounted on poles
Armature Cylindrical in shape with straight skewed
slots is wounded in series and brushes
sitting on it
Commutator Plays a role of permutation while motor
runs on AC supply which is poorer

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 compared to DC due to the current induced
in armature coils
Brushes Made up of carbon which has a high
resistance due to current induced in
armature coil. It is connected to commutator
therefore causing the current produced to
flow in one direction
Shaft Transfers mechanical power from motor to
load
Table 3: Parts and function of universal motor

Moreover, the circuit of the stator field, the armature, is laminated to reduce eddy
currents induced while universal motor operates on AC supply.

2.2.2 Working principle of universal motors

A universal motor can run under both DC and AC power supply. Under DC power supply,
the motor works as a DC motor. Current flows into field winding which has field coils
attached to it and produces an electromagnetic field. Then it flows through brushes and heads
to commutator. Based on commutator, unidirectional current is made to flow to armature
coils. Therefore, a magnetic flux will be produced in one direction in the armature and causes
torque to be produced in a unilateral direction as well. The direction of torque can be
determined using the Fleming left hand rule.
As AC power is supplied, the current flows into stator windings which have field coils
attached to as well as armature windings, but it will flow in different directions when polarity
of coils are in opposite. When series current is used, magnetic flux will be produced in
armature which direction is not unidirectional. The torque will always be unidirectional when
polarity is switched base of the speed of the motor and frequency of current flowing in
circuit. Therefore, armature will continue to rotate eve when AC power is supplied.
When DC series motor is connected to AC power supply, efficiency will drop due to
production of fluctuated magnetic field leading to eddy current loss. Therefore, field coils and
armature coils are laminated. Moreover, the brushes that produces sparks during an AC
supply operation making brushes be made of high resistance. Torque is also proportional to
armature winding and magnetic flux produced in stator.
2.2.3 Equivalent circuit of universal motor

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 Figure 5: Equivalent circuit of universal motor
Symbol Description
Ra Armature resistance
Rf Field winding resistance
La Armature inductance
Lf Field winding inductance

2.2.4 Performance characteristics

2.2.4.1 Back electromotive force
The induced back electromotive force present in the armature due to magnetic field of the
motor is calculated by:

where La is armature inductance and ω is the angular velocity

2.2.4.2 Motor power

The power of motor is the power that is created by back electromotive force. Hence:

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2.2.4.3 Motor torque
Torque,T of motor is generated in motor can be calculated by using the formula:

2.2.4.4 Voltage around the circuit

Total sum of voltage supplied to motor can be calculated using:

2.2.5 Advantages of universal motor

• It has a simple structural design which makes it easy and cheap to maintain
• It is also portable allowing it to be in small devices such as RC cars
• It has a long lifespan if brushes are maintained and changed regularly
• It has high starting torque allowing devices to run at a high RPM
2.2.6 Disadvantages of universal motor
• When there is no load acting with motor, speed can go to dangerously high
• It has a low efficiency percentage of 70-85% based on the current source
• It has a high maintenance of brushes as it must be changed regularly due to the
endurance of heat in contact with commutator
• It is loud as brushes encounter commutator which produces vibrations as well.

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2.3 Servo motors
A servo motor known as a rotary actuator, is a self-contained electrical device
that is commonly used in a closed looped system where precise control of
rotational or linear position, velocity, and acceleration is found with sensors. It is
controlled by a controller which is the most sophisticated part of the motor with an
electrical signal that determines the amount of movement which represents
command position of the shaft. It is usually applied in robotics and automated
machinery manufacturing. They are two types of servo motor which is the DC and
AC servo motors. The AC servo motors are of high current surges and used in
industrial machines as well as aerospace industry whereas DC motors are in use of
domestic application.

2.3.1 Construction of servo motor

Figure 5: Build of servo motors

The construction of a servo motor is made of many parts which have a function. The most
important part on the servo motor is:

Type of parts on servo motor Function

Stator Creates torque due to the rotating magnetic
field produced
Rotor Attached to the shaft externally and has a
permanent magnet on it
Winding Where current flows through and therefore
produces a magnetic field
Shaft Convert energy from motor to output power
and transmits the speed and torque of motor
to its application
Encoder Convert mechanical input to electrical
impulse to signal the controller
Table 4: Parts and function of servo motor parts

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2.3.2 Working principle of servo motor
For a servo motor to work, 4 major components are needed for it to work which are
position sensing device, gear assembly, control circuit and a DC or AC motor. In many cases
or servo motor, a DC motor is used as AC motors are for large industries who modify the
servo motor for desired applications such as aerospace and engineering firms. The desired
speed of the DC motor is based on the voltage applied and to control the speed, a
potentiometer produces a voltage which is applied as one of the inputs into error amplifier. In
some circuit a control pulse is used to produce DC reference voltage in order to control speed
of motor and is applied to a pulse width voltage converter. The length of pulse decides the
voltage applied at error amplifier in order to produce desired speed and voltage. A
potentiometer produces a voltage based of angle of motor shaft through gear mechanism to
the amplifier. Then, the amplifier compares the voltage generated from position of motor
based on potentiometer feedback and produces an error of positive or negative voltage.
Hence, this error voltage is applied to the armature of the motor and causes an ouput voltage.
The motor will rotate till error becomes 0.

For an AC servo motor, they depend on two types of AC motor which is synchronous or
asynchronous. Rotor of synchronous is brushless and consist of permanent magnet where
current induced by electromagnetism in it. As voltage passes through stator and creates a
magnetic field, the rotor rotates with the same speed. Stator of asynchronous on the other
hand is fed with AC supply causing magnetic flux to be produced and hence produce a
rotating magnetic field. With this, rotor will produce an induced electromatic force based on
being induced by electromagnetic induction. Therefore, the rotor will start to produce an
electromagnetic flux around itself which lags of the stator flux.

2.3.3 Performance characteristics of servo motors

2.3.3.1 Speed of servo motor
Usually, speed is calculates using the basic formula of distance over time. In a servo motor,
speed is calculated by:

Where:

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d= distance travelled
t= time taken
a= acceleration

A servo motor can run in a wide range of speed without overheating either low or high. This is to
maintain the toque of the motor running at zero speed to avoid load from heading out of place.

2.3.3.2 Torque of servo motor

The torque of a servo motor can be controlled which then effects speed of the servo motor. The
torque of a servo motor is calculated by:

Where:
Tm= total amount of torque in motor
TL= amount of load torque
Ta = acceleration torque
Sf = safety factor

Peak torque can be generated by servo motor but not for long as it will generate too much heart
damaging the circuit of the servo motor.

2.3.4 Advantages of servo motor

1.0 It can generate high torque at constant speed
2.0 It has a high efficiency of 80- 90% due to the generating of high torque and power
3.0 It has a high output power in ratio to the size of motor

2.3.5 Disadvantages of servo motor

• Peak toque can only be generated for a short amount of time before overheating
• Tuning of servo motor must be done consistently increasing the maintenance
• Causes a lot of vibration even after motor is stopped due to its back-and-forth
movement of the rotor

Page 17 of 20
3.0 Selection of motor for electric vehicles
Based on the three motors discussed, the most suitable motor to be used in an electric
vehicle would be an Induction motor. Specifically, a three phase AC induction motor should
be used in an electric vehicle to convert the electrical energy from the battery into mechanical
energy for the vehicle to generate torque and move. This is because an induction motor is
lighter compared to other motors weighing less than 40kg and having dimensions that do not
produce a disadvantage to electric vehicle builds. Therefore, engineers will be able to create a
much more compact vehicle making it able to travel further, hence saving cost of recharging.
Moreover, the efficiency of an induction motor which was already high with presence of
load can increase by reducing one of the losses present in the motor such as core loss or rotor
and stator copper loss. This can be done by increasing core axial length as well as laminating
parts of the induction motor which will reduce the eddy current present and cause higher
reliability and cheaper maintenance, hence attracting more combustion engine users to switch
to electric vehicles. The efficiency can also increase by having induction motor which has a
high frequency output coming from an inverter.
Furthermore, an induction motor has a high torque when induced current in the rotor is
produced and the speed at this moment will not be constant. As the user of an electric
vehicles steps the accelerator in a heavy manner, a lot of current will flow to stator and create
a magnetic field which causes rotor of induction motor to produce induced magnetic field
which then rotates in lag with the stator but produces a high torque.
Moving onto power, an induction motor has enough power requirements that can overcome
force of aerodynamic drag, frictional and gradient drag. It also has a high-power factor with
presence of load due to magnetising reactance in the stator and rotor of the motor.
Adding on, induction motors have a small change in speed of motor as it is based on the
frequency input from power supply into the motor. Therefore, when user is cruising in an
electric vehicle, induction motor speed is constant, and the mechanical power generated and
applied to movement of the electric vehicle will cause very small changes in rpm causing
speed of vehicle to be constant and not fluctuating when in motion.
Lastly, an electric vehicle usually emits very little noise, but an induction motor produces a
noise and vibration which of course can be overcome. The noise can be damped by an
external damping frequency which can cause the wave frequency of sound and vibration to be
reduced, hence making the electric vehicle not as noisy as an internal combustion engine car.

Page 18 of 20
4.0 Conclusion
All in all, induction motor proves to be a suitable motor for an electric car compared to
servo motor and universal motor as it has many applications and advantages which weigh the
disadvantages of the motor.

5.0 References
[1] Pistoia, Liaw, Pistoia, Gianfranco, and Liaw, Boryann, Behaviour of Lithium-Ion
Batteries in Electric Vehicles, 1st ed. 2018.
[2] R. Marino, P. Tomei, C. M. Verrelli, SpringerLink, and LINK, Induction Motor Control
Design, 1st ed. 2010. London: Springer London, 2010.
[3] "Types of Induction Motor - Working, Advantages & Their Applications", ElProCus -
Electronic Projects for Engineering Students, 2022. [Online]. Available:
https://www.elprocus.com/induction-motor-types-advantages/. [Accessed: 04- Mar- 2022].
[4] M. . Abdel-Halim, M. . Badr, and A. . Alolah, “Smooth starting of slip ring induction
motors,” IEEE transactions on energy conversion, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 317–322, 1997, doi:
10.1109/60.638867.
[5]

[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]

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Put no of words of content at the end
turn it in and check plagarism by 4am tnght

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