Solar powered electric drive-train with integrated bidirectional DC/V2V fast charger incorporating switched reluctance motor

Abstract

The article proposes a solar-powered electric drive-train which integrates a bidirectional DC/vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) fast charger incorporating switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive. The traction converter and phase windings are re-leveraged to charge the battery, thus eliminating the additional hardware required during charging. To extend the driving range, the charging and driving operation are simultaneously performed via the solar photovoltaic (PV) panel installed on the electric vehicle (EV) rooftop. When the EV is idle, the solar PV source installed on or external connects to the battery via the integrated bidirectional DC/V2V fast charger, which implements the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm. The integrated bidirectional DC/V2V fast charger also allows charging/discharging via another EV (EV2) battery source, commonly referred to as V2V charging. In addition, the proposed integrated drive-train (IDT) employs the same number of switches as with a standard n-phase asymmetric half-bridge converter and is also suitable for grid-to-vehicle (G2V), vehicle-to-grid (V2G) operation. Experiments on a prototype 1.1 kW SRM validate the effectiveness of the proposed drive-train, which supernumerary reduces the component footprint of the EV charging system.