Implementation of an Auxiliary Low-Voltage DC Power Supply from an Electric Traction Open-Ended Motor Drive Configuration

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of an auxiliary controlled low-voltage DC power supply integrated in an electric traction system featuring an open-end winding motor. The auxiliary DC power supply is achieved by suitably controlling the voltage between the two positive rails of the DC supply of the two inverters composing the open-ended motor drive configuration. The obtained auxiliary DC power supply can be exploited under a wide set of operations of the open-ended motor drive and is a cost-effective solution to replace the high to low voltage DC-DC converter of an electric vehicle, in case of fault. The feasibility of this approach has been verified through simulations considering a surface mounted synchronous permanent magnet drive.