Design and implementation of an innovative electric drive for a fully electric vehicle for disabled

The aims of the research during the Ph.D. course were the design and the construction of an electric motor drive with an innovative electric motor, with high torque density, to apply to electrical vehicles for disabled persons, in particular, I observed the electrical wheelchairs of the company Neatech.it. This motor drive has to be more efficient than that currently installed on Neatech.it vehicles, the reference case, and on the other vehicles for disabled persons on the market and must meet multiple requirements: must have characteristics of precision, reliability, strength and lightness, but must mainly be interfaced with users with reduced mobility and therefore possess ease of use, driving comfort and naturalness in the dynamic response. Among the drive components, much of the activity has been dedicated to the design and construction of the motor prototype. The motor was designed in collaboration with the University of Timis,oara (Romania). At the same time, converters and electronic power devices and the related electronic circuits, actually are not present in the electric vehicles in the market for persons with disabilities, were thought. In the beginning, the actual Neatech.it motor drive, which commands two DC motors, was studied and modified in a prototype board. After that, the board was tested on a wheelchair by the writer. For the realization of the motor, a compound material SMC (Soft Magnetic Compound), the ATOMET, was used; this kind of material allows to avoid the use of laminated cores. Solutions were adopted to make the most of the benefits and minimize the disadvantages compared to laminated ferromagnetic materials used until now for electric motors building. The motor realized by me during the Ph.D. course was born from an idea of Dr. Enzo De Santis and on his idea, Prof. Ion Boldea made the first design of that machine. Sequently, Prof. Marignetti, with the technicians of Neatech.it, made the first 3D drawing. After that, I modified a lot of times drawing and design to make it suitable for the realization in the University laboratory and to try to improve the mechanical and magnetic features of the machine.