System-level motor drive modelling for optimization-based designs

To achieve optimal system weight and efficiency, the design of main components in an AC motor drive (electric machine and power converter) have to be optimized together. This is challenging considering the multiphysics and complex nature of its operation and interactions between the components. There are few papers that address a formal approach towards this design optimization for motor drives at a system-level. This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting a fast and accurate system-level motor drive model, for use in an optimization-based design approach. At a system-level, the presented model is able to consider several aspects of machine-converter interactions. The model is fully analytical, making it very computationally efficient, and its accuracy is validated using a back-to-back motor-drive test setup.