An Enhanced Fault-Tolerant and Autoreconfigurable BLDC Motor Drive for Electric Vehicle Applications

Semiconductor switching devices are susceptible to open-circuit (OC) and short-circuit (SC) faults, adversely affecting the reliability of power converters. This article proposes a multiple-switch fault-tolerant and autoreconfigurable brushless direct current (BLDC) motor drive configuration, suitable for electric vehicle applications, owing to its enhanced reliability. The proposed power circuit configuration, along with its fault diagnostic algorithm, is capable of achieving fault tolerance against multiple OC and SC faults. The proposed drive configuration is capable of delivering rated power to the BLDC motor even after the development of several faults in the power semiconductor switching devices. In this power converter, additional switching resources, provided to achieve fault tolerance, get connected only after the occurrence of faults. This feature avoids their unnecessary exposure before the occurrence of faults. Furthermore, the proposed topology requires fewer sensors to implement the fault diagnostic algorithm resulting in reduced cost and increased reliability. This article also presents an analysis that assesses the cost-effectiveness of the proposed drive configuration, which reveals that the additional cost to implement the proposed topology is not more than 6% of the total raw material cost of the conventional BLDC motor drive. Simulation and experimental studies validate the concept of the proposed drive configuration.