Fuzzy logic-based reactive power control for power factor enhancement in EV drives

Induction motors (IM) find broad applications in various Electric Vehicle (EV) drives because of their numerous advantages. The speed control of these EV motor drives is realized through different speed control algorithms such as direct torque control (DTC), field-oriented control (FOC), direct power control (DPC) etc. However, energy efficient control for these drives is still supplementary, especially in EV's where drive cycle is irregular. This article contributes a fuzzy logic based reactive power control of IM drive for power factor enhancement, where the flow of reactive power is governed by reference speed and torque commands using fuzzy logic. The proposed methodology eliminates the necessity for integrating complicated flux estimators & observers and significantly improves power factor across a broad spectrum of EV drive cycle. To evaluate the performance and the effectiveness of the proposed technique, extensive simulations and experimental studies have been conducted on 0.75 kW induction motor drive considering the wide-ranging EV driving cycle and compared with the widely used FOC scheme.