Master Thesis Report

IST, October 2010

Nuno Grilo

Design and characterization of an induction motor for application in a

commercial electric vehicle
Nuno Alexandre Barbas de Gomes Grilo
Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Electrotcnica e de Computadores
Instituto Superior Tcnico, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal
Supervisors: Duarte Mesquita e Sousa (Instituto Superior Tcnico, Technical University of Lisbon,
Portugal)
Abstract Nowadays, electric vehicles are regarded as the future for a sustainable automobile industry.
There are several electric motors designed for future integration in these vehicles, being the AC motors the most
widely used nowadays. Among the AC motors group, the induction motors and the permanent magnet motors
are the ones that have been most widely used. As a result, this thesis aims at performing the design and
simulation of these motors, in order to allow their future integration in a commercial electric vehicle (FIAT
Elletra Seicento).
In order to perform the design of alternative electric motors, a basic computational tool was built using the
Matlab software. This tool allows performing the design of three alternative motors (induction motor, axial flux
permanent magnet brushless AC motor and permanent magnet cylindrical brushless AC motor), taking into
account the inputs imposed by the user.
After designing the motors, the simulation using the FEMM software was performed for two of the three
motors which were previously designed: induction motor and permanent magnet cylindrical brushless AC
motor. These simulations aimed at studying the distribution of the magnetic field lines across the motors for the
working conditions imposed (nominal frequency of 50Hz and nominal current of 60A).
After concluding the design and simulation process, it is possible to conclude that the axial flux permanent
magnet brushless AC motor is the most attractive one for future application in electric vehicles, as it is
characterised by a high torque, high efficiency and can be coupled to the rear wheels of the vehicles.
Keywords Electric vehicles; induction motor; permanent magnets AC motor; design; simulation;
computational tool;

induction motor and permanent magnet brushless

AC motor are the most widely used for integration
in electric vehicles.

I. INTRODUCTION
The first electric vehicle was built in 1830, but it
was only by the end of the 19th century that
commercial electric vehicles were available
(Larminie and Lowry, 2003). According to Jain et al.
(2009) these vehicles are generally regarded as
the future for a sustainable automobile industry.

This thesis aims at studying alternative motors that

can be used for application in a commercial electric
vehicle the Fiat Elletra Seicento vehicle. In
particular, this study addresses the design and
simulation of two main groups of electric motors:
the induction motor and the permanent magnet
brushless AC motor.
The design of the induction motor and the
permanent magnet brushless AC motor was
performed using the Matlab software (MathWorks,
2010). Based on this software, we have built a
computational tool that allows choosing the motor
characteristics, giving the main dimensions of that
motor as output. This tool represents an important
advantage of this study, since it deals with the
motor design in a simple and fast way.
After concluding the design phase of the study, we
have performed the simulation of the referred

A wide variety of electric motors have been used

for integration in electric vehicles.
Historically, DC electric motors were the most
widely used, since its torque/speed characteristic
suit the traction requirement for being used in
electric vehicles (Nanda and Kar, 2006).
Nonetheless, recent advancements in technology
have made AC electric motors much more
preferable over the traditional DC motors (Nanda
and Kar, 2006) AC electric motors are
characterized by a much higher efficiency, greater
reliability, more power density and less need of
maintenance. Among the AC electric motors group,
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Nuno Grilo

motors using the Finite Element Method

Magnetics (FEMM) software (Finite Element
Method Magnetics, 2010). This simulation was
performed imposing a Hz frequency and a A
current, allowing to take some conclusions about
the performance of the designed motors.

makes it difficult to obtain a large torque into the

motor (Xue et al., 2008).
Brushed DC motor
According to Xue et al. (2008), brushed DC motors
show a high ability to achieve high torque at low
speed. Nonetheless, these motors have a bulky
construction, low efficiency, low reliability and
higher need of maintenance. In addition, the
friction between its brushes and commutator limits
the maximum motor speed.

This paper is organized as follows: in section II we

present an overview of the electric motors most
widely used for application in electric vehicles; in
section III we describe the method used for the
induction motor design, as well as for its
simulation; in section IV is intended to present the
design of two permanent magnet brushless AC
motors (axial flux and cylindrical motor); in section
V we present the simulation of a permanent
magnet brushless AC motor, analysing the effect of
imposing different positions for the permanent
magnets in the rotor; and section VI presents the
main conclusions of this study, as well as
suggestions for further work in this area.

Permanent magnet brushless AC motor

According to Nanda and Kar (2006), permanent
magnet brushless AC motors are the ones that
give a direct competition to the induction motor
drives, for use in electric vehicles. The main
advantages of this type of motor are shared with
the permanent magnet brushless DC motors
(Nanda and Kar, 2006): (1) it has a high power
density, due to the presence of high energy
permanent magnets; (2) it is characterized by a
high efficiency, due to the lower rotor losses; (3)
the heat rises only in the stator; and (4) the
permanent magnets are not likely to suffer from
any manufacturing defects or overheating. On the
other hand, the main disadvantage of these
motors is associated with their complex
construction.
It is worth noting that the configuration of a
permanent magnet brushless AC motor is very
similar to that of permanent magnet brushless DC
motor. Nonetheless, these motors are fed by a
sinusoidal AC supply, rather than a rectangular one
(Nanda and Kar, 2006).

II. OVERVIEW OF ELECTRIC MOTORS USED IN

ELECTRIC VEHICLES
There are a wide variety of motors that can be
used for integration in electric vehicles:
1. Ehsani et al. (2003) propose the use of
induction motors, permanent magnet
brushless DC motors and switched
reluctance motor;
2. Xue et al. (2008) present the same
proposal than Ehsani et al. (2003), but
they also advocate that brushed DC
motors should be used;
3. Nanda and Kar (2006) highlight the
relevance of permanent magnet brushless
AC motors in such applications.

Induction motor
According to Nanda and Kar (2006), at the present
induction motors offer one of the most reliable
and mature technologies for use in electrical
vehicles. These motors are also characterized by a
simple construction, reliability, low maintenance,
low costs and ability to operate in hostile
environments (Xue et al., 2008). In addition, these
motors do not suffer from the speed limitations
that can be found in brushed DC motors.
Nonetheless, these also show an important
disadvantage: they are characterised by a lower
efficiency when compared to the permanent
magnet motors, due to their rotor losses.

Permanent magnet brushless DC motor

As these motors are characterized by the absence
of rotor windings and low rotor losses, their
efficiency is higher than that of induction motors,
conventional DC motors and switched reluctance
motors (Ehsani et al., 2003; Xue et al., 2008).
Furthermore, permanent magnet brushless DC
motors efficiently dissipates the heat to the
surroundings and the permanent magnets are not
likely to suffer from any manufacturing defects or
overheating. Regarding the drawbacks of this type
of motor, it has a short constant power range due
to its limited field weakening capability
(consequence of the permanent magnet field
presence) (Ehsani et al., 2003). In addition, the
magnet is expensive and its mechanical strength

Switched reluctance motor

Switched reluctance motors have been gaining
much interest as a candidate for applications in
electric vehicles, because of its simple and rugged
construction, simple control and ability of
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extremely high speed operation (Ehsani et al.,

2003). This type of motor is characterized by a high
starting torque and its rotor structure is extremely
simple (without any windings, magnets,
commutators or brushes) (Xue et al., 2008). The
main consequence of the absence of magnetic
sources on the rotor (windings or permanent
magnets) makes it easy to cool and insensitive to
high temperatures. Nonetheless, these motors also
show several disadvantages (Nanda and Kar, 2006):
(1) it has certain noise problems; and (2) they are
characterized by a lower efficiency when
compared with permanent magnet motors.

1.
2.
3.

4.

5.

The induction motor should be a highspeed motor;

The motor is composed by a squirrel cage
rotor;
The stator and the rotor slots should have
the geometry shown in figure 1 and 2,
respectively;
Only 40% of the stator slots should be
occupied by conductors (Gieras et al.,
2004);
The number of rotor slots should be equal
to the number of stator slots.

III. DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF AN

INDUCTION MOTOR
In this section we present the method used for the
design of an induction motor with a squirrel-cage
rotor using the Matlab software (MathWorks,
2010), as well as its simulation using the Finite
Element Method Magnetics (FEMM) software
(version 4.2) (Finite Element Method Magnetics,
2010). The induction motor herein proposed is to
be used coupled to the drive shaft of the electric
vehicle.

Figure 1. Stator slot geometry (Kostenko and

Piotrovski, 1979).

Design of an induction motor

The method used for the induction motor design is
based on the use of a set of equations (Kostenko
and Piotrovski, 1979; Lipo, 1996; Toliyat and
Kliman, 2004), whose application requires the prior
choice of the inputs indicated below. These
equations were used for building a basic
computational tool using the Matlab software
(Appendix), which allows the users to choose the
inputs, giving the main dimensions of the motor as
output.

Figure 2. Rotor slot geometry (Kostenko and

Piotrovski, 1979).

Based on the basic computational tool (built using

the referred equations and conditions), it was
possible to compute the main dimensions of a
15kW and high speed (2200 rpm) induction motor
(table 1).

Inputs:

Table 1. Results obtained for the main dimensions of the

induction motor.
Stator inner diameter,
[m]
0,1
Stator outer diameter,
[m]
0,2
0,3
Active length of the core, L [m]
Number of conductors per phase,
72
Number of stator slots,
36
Conductors per slot,
6
Conductors diameter,
[mm]
2,3
Stator reactance, [ ]
2,3
Stator resistance, [ ]
0,01
Rotor reactance, [ ]
1,9
Rotor resistance, [ ]
0,1
Airgap reactance,
[ ]
27,8
Maximum torque,
[Nm]
46,4
Total losses,
[W]
1826,6
Efficiency, [%]
89,2

Power of the induction motor

Line voltage
Current
Number of pairs of poles
Number of phases
Speed
Power factor
Number of slots per pole per phase
Airgap thickness
Slip
Mecanical losses
In order to compute the main dimensions of the
induction motor, we have imposed the following
characteristics:

Master Thesis Report

IST, October 2010
Nuno Grilo

Simulation of an induction motor

In order to perform the simulation of the induction
motor previously designed, we have used the
FEMM software. FEMM is an open source finite
element analysis software package for solving
electromagnetic problems (Baltzis, 2008). Using
this software, it is possible to address linear and
nonlinear magnetostatic problems, linear and
nonlinear time-harmonic magnetic problems,
linear electrostatic problems and steady-state heat
flow problems (Meker, 2008). In this section, we
address a non-linear time-harmonic magnetic
problem in such problems the magnetic field is
time-varying and oscillates at one fixed frequency
(which was chosen to be Hz).
Firstly, a cross section of the induction motor
previously designed was built (figure 3) the
number of rotor and stator slots, the inner and
outer diameters, the active length and the number
of conductors per slot were extracted from the
results obtained through the use of the
computational tool. The materials chosen for this
motor were the following:
1. M-19 Steel for the stator and rotor core
(which is
a
laminated material
characterized by a non-linear B-H curve);
2. 12-AWG Copper for the conductors;
3. 1100 Aluminium for the squirrel-cage
rotor bars.

field lines are symmetrically distributed around

each pole, as it would be expected.

Figure 4. Magnetic field lines distribution in the middle

cross section of the induction motor.

Additionally to the magnetic field lines distribution,

it is also important to analyse the distribution of
the H field across the rotor and stator cores. Figure
5 shows this distribution across the stator core of
the induction motor (the origin of the horizontal
axis corresponds to the outer diameter of the
stator).

Figure 5. H field distribution across the stator of the

induction motor (according to the red line shown in the
figure).

As it can be seen in the figure, the H field is always

lower than 25000 A/m (H field for which the M-19
Steel saturates), which means that the material
which composes the stator core does not saturate
when the induction motor is working at a nominal
frequency of Hz and a nominal current of A.
Nonetheless, the higher H field is found near the
stator slots where the current of the stator
windings is flowing.
Performing the same analysis in the rotor core
allows concluding that the material which
composes this core (M-19 Steel) does not saturate
(for the same reasons described for the stator
core).

Figure 3. Middle cross section of the induction motor

built using the FEMM software.

Regarding the boundary conditions, and as the

whole cross section of the motor was used, only
the first order Dirichlet's was applied on the outer
stator line and inner rotor line.
Once built, and after imposing a frequency of Hz
and nominal current of
A, it was possible to
analyse the distribution of the magnetic field lines
through the entire cross section of the induction
motor (figure 4). As it can be seen, the magnetic
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IV. DESIGN OF PERMANENT MAGNET

BRUSHLESS AC MOTOR
In this section we present the methods used for
the design of two permanent magnet brushless AC
motors (using the Matlab software) as well as its
simulation (using the FEMM software). The first
motor to be analysed is an axial flux permanent
magnet brushless AC motor composed by two
stators, which is to be used coupled to the rear
wheels of the electric vehicle. The second one is
the permanent magnet cylindrical brushless AC
motor, which is to be used coupled to the drive
shaft of the electric vehicle (in the same way
described for the induction motor). The design of
both motors was also performed using a set of
equations which were used for building the
referred basic computational tool (Appendix).

Figure 6. Rotor composed by Trapezoidal permanent

magnets (Gieras et al., 2004).

Based on the basic computational tool (built using

the referred equations and conditions), it was
possible to compute the main dimensions of a
7,5kW and low speed (700 rpm) axial flux
permanent magnet brushless AC motor composed
by two stators (table 2). As this motor is to be used
coupled to the rear wheels of the electric vehicle,
we need to design two motors with half of the
power required for the vehicle as we want a
15kW total power, we have to design two motors
of 7,5kW each.
Table 2. Results obtained for the main dimensions of the
axial flux permanent magnet brushless AC motor
composed by two stators.
Stators and rotor inner diameter,
[m]
0,2
Stators and rotor outer diameter,
[m]
0,3
Number of conductors per phase and per
360
stator,
Number of stators slots,
36
Conductors per slot,
60
Conductors diameter,
[mm]
1,6
Stator reactance, [ ]
9,1
Stator resistance, [ ]
1,4
Stator synchronous reactance, [ ]
11,2
Stator armature reactance,
[ ]
2,1
Torque, [Nm]
98,7
Total losses,
[W]
1097,1
Efficiency, [%]
86,8

Design of an axial flux permanent magnet

brushless AC motor
In the same way previously described, the method
used for the design of the motor herein proposed
is based on the use of a set of equations (Gieras et
al., 2004). The application of these equations
requires the choice of the same inputs referred for
the induction motor, as well as the choice of an
additional input that is described below.
Additional input:
Permanent magnet thickness
The characteristics which were imposed for
designing the axial flux permanent magnet
brushless AC motor were the following:
1. The motor is composed by two stators;
2. The permanent magnets chosen for the
motor design are trapezoidal magnets
(figure 6);
3. The number of conductors per cable is set
to one;
4. Only 40% of the stators slots should be
occupied by conductors (Gieras et al.,
2004);
5. The stators slots should have the
geometry shown in figure 1.

Design of a permanent magnet cylindrical

brushless AC motor
In the same way described for the previous
motors, the method used for the design of the
motor herein proposed is based on the use of a set
of equations (Kostenko and Piotrovski, 1979; Lipo,
1996; Gieras and Wing, 2002; Gieras et al., 2004;
Toliyat and Kliman, 2004). The application of these
equations requires the choice of the same inputs
referred for the previous motor.
The characteristics which were imposed for
designing the permanent magnet cylindrical
brushless AC motor were the following:
1. The permanent magnets chosen for the
motor design are shown in figure 7.
2. The number of conductors per cable is set
to one;
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3.

4.

Only 40% of the stators slots should be

occupied by conductors (Gieras et al.,
2004);
The stators slots should have the
geometry shown in figure 1.

Simulation of a permanent magnet cylindrical

brushless AC motor composed by external
magnets
In the same way described for the simulation of
the induction motor, a cross section of the
permanent magnet cylindrical brushless AC motor
composed by external magnets was designed
(figure 8) - the number of stator slots, the inner
and outer diameters, the active length and the
number of conductors per slot were extracted
from the results obtained through the use of the
computational tool. The materials chosen for this
motor were the following:
1. M-19 Steel for the stator and rotor core;
2. 10-AWG Copper for the conductors;
3. Alnico 5 for the permanent magnets.
We have decided to use Alnico 5, because this is
the material most widely used in the permanent
magnets applied in electric vehicles (Gieras and
Wing, 2002). The main advantage of this material is
related with its high flux density (thus producing
high output torques) (Meker, 2008).

Figure 7. Rotor composed by external permanent

magnets (Gieras and Wing, 2002).

The main dimensions of a 15kW and high speed

(2200 rpm) permanent magnet cylindrical
brushless AC motor are presented in table 3
(obtained using the computational tool).
Table 3. Results obtained for the main dimensions of the
permanent magnet cylindrical brushless AC motor.
Stator inner diameter,
[m]
0,084
Stator outer diameter,
[m]
0,120
0,263
Active length of the core, L [m]
Number of conductors per phase,
48
Number of stator slots,
36
Conductors per slot,
4
Conductors diameter,
[mm]
3,175
Stator reactance, [ ]
0,398
Stator resistance, [ ]
0,014
Stator synchronous reactance (d component),
[ ]
0,319
Stator synchronous reactance (q component),
[ ]
0,239
Stator armature reactance (d component),
[ ]
0,106
Stator armature reactance (q component),
[ ]
0,026
Torque, [Nm]
68,349
Total losses,
[W]
920,255
Efficiency, [%]
94,478

Figure 8. Cross section of the permanent magnet

cylindrical brushless AC motor composed by external
magnets built using the FEMM software.

V. SIMULATION OF PERMANENT MAGNET

CYLINDRICAL BRUSHLESS AC MOTORS

For this analysis, the boundary conditions were the

same as those described for the induction motor.
After processing the simulation of the motor
(imposing a frequency of
Hz and nominal
current of
A), it was possible to analyse the
results obtained for the distribution of the
magnetic field lines on the entire cross section of
the motor. The results are shown in figure 9.

In this section, and in the same way described for

the induction motor, we address two non-linear
time-harmonic magnetic problems using the
FEMM software:
1. Simulation at a 50Hz frequency and 60A
current of a permanent magnet cylindrical
brushless AC motor composed by external
magnets;
2. Simulation at a 50Hz frequency and 60A
current of a permanent magnet cylindrical
brushless AC motor composed by internal
magnets.

Master Thesis Report

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Nuno Grilo

Figure 9. Magnetic field lines distribution in the middle

cross section of the permanent magnet cylindrical
brushless AC motor composed by external magnets.

Figure 10. Cross section of the permanent magnet

cylindrical brushless AC motor composed by internal
magnets built using the FEMM software.

Analysing the results shown in figure 9, it is

possible to notice that the magnetic field lines (in
the same way described for the induction motor)
are symmetrically distributed around each pole, as
it would be expected.
Regarding the distribution of the H field across the
rotor and stator cores, we have verified that the H
field is always lower than 25000 A/m in both
structures (H field for which the M-19 Steel
saturates). As a result, we can conclude that the
stator and rotor cores are not saturated when the
motor is working at a nominal frequency of Hz
and a nominal current of A.

The boundary conditions, working frequency and

current imposed were the same used for the
previous motor. The simulation results obtained
for these conditions are shown in figure 11.

Simulation of a permanent magnet cylindrical

brushless AC motor composed by internal
magnets
The simulation of the permanent magnet
cylindrical brushless AC motor composed by
internal magnets is very similar to the simulation
performed for the previous motor.
Firstly, we have designed the middle cross section
of the motor, according to figure 10 (using the
results obtained through the use of the
computational tool). The materials used for this
design were the same than those described for the
permanent magnet cylindrical brushless AC motor
composed by external magnets. The main
difference here is associated with the permanent
magnet position in the rotor.

Figure 11. Magnetic field lines distribution in the middle

cross section of the permanent magnet cylindrical
brushless AC motor composed by internal magnets.

Analysing Figure 11, we can conclude that the

magnetic field distribution, like for the previous
two motors, are symmetrically distributed around
each pole, as it would be expected.
Analysing the distribution of the H field across the
rotor and stator cores allowed concluding that the
stator and rotor cores are not saturated when the
motor is working at a nominal frequency of Hz
and a nominal current of A (since the H field is
always lower than 25000 A/m in both structures).
Nonetheless, the H field distribution on the
permanent magnets shows values higher than the
saturation threshold which characterizes its
material (Alnico 5 is characterized by a saturation
threshold of 5000 A/m) (figure 12) as a result, the
material which composes the permanent magnets
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saturates when the motor is working at a nominal

frequency of Hz and a nominal current of A.

2.
3.

It as a high efficiency (
);
It can be used coupled to the vehicle
wheels this type of drive system does
not have a gear system and, as a
consequence, does not show the
associated mechanical losses.
It is worth noting that the permanent magnet
cylindrical brushless AC motor is the one with the
higher efficiency. Nonetheless, as it has a lower
torque, high speed and high dimensions, it cannot
be coupled to the vehicle wheels.
Comparing the results obtained from the design of
the three motors it is possible to take several
additional conclusions:
1. Taking the efficiency as the criterion, the
permanent magnet cylindrical brushless
AC motor is the most attractive one. This
behaviour is in accordance to Gieras and
Wing (2002), Nanda and Kar (2006) and
Xue et al. (2008), since they advocate that
the efficiency of such a motor is expected
to be the higher due to the presence of
the permanent magnets in the rotor;
2. Taking the torque as the criterion, the
axial flux permanent magnet AC brushless
motor is the preferred one.
Regarding the tool developed using the Matlab
software, it represents an important advantage of
this study. This tool allows the design of alternative
motors for future integration in electric vehicles.
Given the simplicity of this tool, any person will be
able to use it, provided that he has all the inputs
asked.
Nonetheless, the tool was developed based on
certain conditions that must be taken into account
by the users before using it:
1. The motors designed using the tool must
be air cooled;
2. The motors should work at a 50/60Hz of
nominal frequency;
3. The power of the motor should be lower
than 100kW (Gieras et al., 2004).

Figure 12. H field distribution across the permanent

magnet of the rotor (the origin of the horizontal axis
corresponds to the inner diameter of the rotor).

VI. CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH

This section presents the main conclusions that can
be drawn from this study, as well as suggestions
for further research in this area.
Conclusions
The first stage of this thesis was intended to study
alternative motors for future application in electric
vehicles. There are several options, so there is
need to analyse the advantages and disadvantages
associated with the use of each type of electric
motor.
After studying the main characteristics of the
motors in use for applications in electric vehicles,
we have analysed in more detail the following two
types of electric motors: induction motor and
permanent magnet AC brushless motor. These
two motors are the most widely used nowadays.
This type of analysis is of great importance, since it
will represent the basis for the future development
of new motors for a commercial electric vehicle
(FIAT Elletra Seicento). In order to complete this
analysis, our study was divided into two phases: (1)
design; and (2) simulation phases.

Once the design phase is concluded, we have

performed the simulation of the following motors:
induction motor, permanent magnet cylindrical
brushless AC motor with external rotor magnets
and permanent magnet cylindrical brushless AC
motor with internal rotor magnets. These
simulations are of great importance, since they
allow evaluating the performance of the previously
designed motors after imposing different working
conditions.
Regarding the results of these simulations, it is
possible to take several conclusions:

For the design phase of this thesis, we have built a

computational tool using the Matlab software.
Using this tool, we have performed the design of
three different motors: induction motor, axial flux
permanent magnet AC brushless motor and
permanent magnet cylindrical brushless AC motor.
After concluding this design, it is possible to
conclude that the most attractive one for a future
application in electric vehicles will be the axial flux
permanent magnet brushless AC motor. There are
several reasons that justify this choice:
1. It as the higher torque (
);
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1.

2.

3.

The magnetic field lines shown for all the

three
motors
are
symmetrically
distributed around each pole, as it would
be expected. Nonetheless, there are some
deviations from the typical behaviour,
which is related with the method used by
the FEMM software to compute the
results;
The material which has been chosen for
the stator and rotor core (M-19 Steel)
represent a good choice, since it does not
saturate when the motors (all the three
motors which have been simulated) are
working at a 50Hz frequency and with a
60A current;
The results obtained for the magnetic
field across the motors are in accordance
with the literature.

be useful to improve it for example improve its

graphical interface.
After performing the simulation of the permanent
magnet brushless AC motor at a 50Hz frequency
and 60A current, it was possible to conclude that
the material chosen for the permanent magnets
was saturated (Alnico 5). As a result, it might be
interesting to impose the use of different materials
for these magnets, analysing the effect of these
new materials on the performance of the motors.

VII.

APPENDIX: COMPUTATIONAL TOOL

A basic computational tool was developed using

the Matlab software. This tool allows performing
the design of alternative motors for future
application in electric vehicles: induction motor,
axial flux permanent magnet AC brushless motor
and permanent magnet cylindrical brushless AC
motor.
The first step required for using this tool is related
with the choice of the motor the user wants to
design (figure 13).
After choosing the motor to be designed, the user
is asked to provide the inputs he wants to impose
for the motor: figure 14 shows the inputs window
for the design of the induction motor; the input
windows for the remaining two motors are very
similar, but with an additional input (permanent
magnet thickness).
After introducing the inputs, the results obtained
for the main dimensions of the motor to be
designed are provided by the tool according to
figure 15 (the results obtained for the remaining
two motors are shown through a very similar
window).

After performing all the designs and simulation

analysis, it is possible to conclude that the FEMM
software represents an useful tool that should be
used to complement the design phase. The reason
that justifies this complementarity is related with
the possibility to verify the motor performance
when different working conditions for the
designed motors are imposed.
Further research
Regarding further research, this thesis is intended
to be used for a future construction of the
designed motors, in order to be integrated in a
specific commercial electric vehicle FIAT Elletra
Seicento.
As we have developed a basic tool that allows the
design of three alternative electric motors, it might

Figure 13. Window used for the selection of the motor to be designed.

Master Thesis Report

IST, October 2010
Nuno Grilo
[5] Fitzgerald AE, Kingsley C, Umans SD. Mquinas
Elctricas. Porto Alegre: Bookman, 2006.
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Figure 14. Inputs window for the design of an induction

motor.

Figure 15. Outputs window with the main dimensions

obtained for an induction motor.

VIII.

REFERENCES

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Motor Drives for Traction Applications. Industrial
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