A double-ended inverter system for the combined propulsion and energy management functions in hybrid vehicles with energy storage

This paper proposes a double-ended inverter for hybrid vehicles with energy storage. The double-ended inverter consists of two electrically isolated three-phase inverters connected to each end of an open end-winding AC motor. By controlling the individual inverter voltages, it is shown to be possible to simultaneously control both the motor output power and energy flow between the two inverters. A unity power factor control method, voltage quadrature control method, and optimum inverter utilization control method are proposed as methods to achieve the combined motor control and energy management functions of the hybrid system. The proposed double-ended inverter system is free of the DC-DC converter and associated magnetic components found in traditional hybrid vehicle systems with energy storage. The complete modeling and operation of the proposed system is developed and simulation results are presented verifying the proposed control methods