Controls Engineer Intern,
Summer 2021

Project Overview
Raptee Inc. was tasked to model the drive unit and wheels for their electric motorcycle. The goal was to predict accurate motor parameters (currents, torque loads etc) over a given standard drive cycle to enhance vehicle endurance.
My Contributions
I worked on simulating the PMSM motor and controller on MATLAB (Simulink). Specifically this involved understanding and tuning the motor controller for generating the required amount of torque. The challenge was to implement Field Oriented Control(FOC) for maximum efficiency
High Level Motor and ControllerModel
As a mechanical engineer, understanding and reading material related to PMSM motors and various control strategies was the biggest challenge. Hence a large part of this internship was literature review. The mechanical part involved modelling the vehicle dynamics using the magic formula, torque transfer through the transmission and disc braking was also integrated. A key change brought by my contributions was integration of regenerative braking which has the potential to largely increase the range of the motorcycle.

My learning on both theoretical and practical aspects of vehicle control systems was intense and gave me required push and confidence needed to switch to an all electric vehicle Formula Student team. The experience at Raptee contributes greatly to my abilities in joining a controls team at any organisation.
Challenges Faced

Motor and Controller
Vehicle Body, Brakes and Power input

Overall Model

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