In the era of electric cars, you need to learn more about powerful electric motors!

At present, the United Kingdom and France have established a time limit for banning the use of internal combustion engines (ICE), and China is also studying when to ban the use of internal combustion engines. Volvo has announced that its new cars will start using electric drive in 2019.

This article will discuss powerful electric motors, which are traction motors. It will play an increasingly important role in driving vehicles with engines. But electric motors have dominated many other automotive applications. We might as well conduct a general survey of a typical motor of a car.

Figure 1: Electric motor applications in automobiles

Existing and increasing electrical equipment

"There must be a better way to start a car than a hand crank." At least your great-grandparents think so. The electric starter motor has become a part of the car. These are still the most powerful motors besides traction motors. With the emergence of idling start-stop technology and mild hybrid vehicles, starter motors are being transformed into starter generators and take on more functions. In some designs, the enhanced starter motor can be used to "crawl" the car forward during stop-and-go driving, blurring the boundary between the starter motor and the electric traction motor.

Windshield wipers are perhaps the most common example of motor applications in existing cars. Every vehicle has at least one wiper motor for the front wiper. Rear window wipers are becoming more and more popular in SUVs and cars with door-style backs, which means that rear wipers and corresponding motors are present in most cars. Another motor pumps washer fluid to the windshield. In some cars it pumps washer fluid to the headlights, which may have their own small wipers.

Almost every car has a blower to circulate the air delivered from the heating and cooling system; many cars have two or more fans in the cabin. High-end vehicles also have fans installed on the seats for seat cushion ventilation and heat distribution.

Want to know where the electric motor is? Electric seats are the ideal place to find it. In economical cars, the motor provides convenient front and rear adjustment and backrest tilt functions. In luxury cars, the electric motor controls the height adjustment, bottom cushion tilt, lumbar support, headrest adjustment and cushion stability. Other seat functions that use electric motors include power seat folding and power loading of the rear seats.

In the past, we used to open and close car windows manually, but now power windows are very common; future generations will not understand that people used traditional round handles to lower their windows.

Hidden electric motors are placed in each window, including variants such as sunroofs and ventilation windows of minivans. The drivers used for these windows can be as simple as relays, but safety requirements (such as detecting obstacles or sandwiched objects) will drive people to use smarter drivers, with motion monitoring and driving force limitations.

From manual to electric, car locks have become more and more convenient. The advantages of electric control include convenient functions such as remote operation, and functions that enhance safety and intelligence such as automatic unlocking after a car crash. Unlike electric windows, electric door locks must retain manual operation options, so this affects the design of the electric door lock motor and structure.

The indicators on the dashboard or cluster may evolve into light-emitting diodes (LED) or other types of displays, but now every dial and meter uses a small electric motor. Among the types that provide convenience, other electric motors also include common functions such as side mirror folding and position adjustment, as well as more distinctive applications, such as convertible roofs, retractable pedals, and glass between the driver and passengers Clapboard.

Under the hood, electric motors are becoming more and more common in other places. In many cases, electric motors are replacing belt-driven mechanical components. Examples include radiator fans, fuel pumps, water pumps, and compressors. There are several advantages to changing these functions from belt drive to electric drive. One of the advantages is that the use of drive motors for modern electronic equipment is more energy-efficient than the use of belts and pulleys, resulting in benefits such as increased fuel efficiency, weight reduction and reduced emissions. Another advantage is that the use of an electric motor instead of a belt allows more freedom in mechanical design, because the installation position of the pump and fan does not have to be restricted, that is, a serpentine belt must be connected to each pulley.

Technology trends

Most electric motors in today's cars use standard 12V car systems, using an alternator with a belt drive to generate voltage and lead-acid batteries for storage. This structure has been good for decades, but the latest vehicles need more comfort, entertainment, navigation, driver assistance and safety features.

Dual voltage 12V and 48V systems can remove some of the higher current loads from the 12V battery. The advantage of using a 48V power supply is that the current of the same power is reduced by 4 times, and the weight of the cable and the motor winding is reduced. Applications for high current loads that may be updated to 48V power supplies include starter motors, turbochargers, fuel pumps, water pumps, and cooling fans. Placing a 48V electrical system for these components may save about 10% of fuel consumption.

Brushed DC motors are the traditional solution used to drive most of the electrical convenience functions in the car body. Since the brushes provide the commutation function, the drive of these motors is simple and relatively cheap. In some applications, brushless direct current (BLDC) motors have significant advantages in power density, thereby reducing weight and providing better fuel economy and lower emissions. Manufacturers choose to use BLDC motors in windshield wipers, cabin heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) blowers and pumps. In these applications, electric motors tend to run for long periods of time instead of instantaneous operation like power windows or power seats, where the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of brush motors still have advantages.

in conclusion

So, how many electric motors are there in your car? You can hardly find a new car with fewer than a dozen electric motors, and a typical modern car on American highways may have 40 or more electric motors. The increasing popularity of electric vehicles will stimulate innovation in automobile motors. However, electric motors have become very popular in the entire ICE propulsion vehicle. As the applications that are updated every model year increase, they make these applications more convenient, with better intelligent systems and safer operating environments, while reducing the effect on the environment. We still have a lot of room for development.