Simulation-Based Design of Ultra-Fast Dynamic Torque Control for Electric Vehicle Permanent Magnet Motor Drives
Abdullatif HakamiElectric Vehicle drive systems must provide fast torque response, low or minimal torque ripple, robustness to both parameter variations and external disturbances. Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs) are commonly found in electric vehicle propulsion applications due to their high power density, high efficiency, and excellent dynamic performance. However, performance degradation in torque control of PMSMs under time-varying conditions arises from the nonlinear characteristics of motors and their high sensitivity to changes in system parameters. This paper presents a torque-control method with high dynamic bandwidth that combines three techniques: (1) Nonlinear Sliding Mode Torque Control; (2) Predictive Current Control; and (3) Disturbance Estimation. The sliding mode controller provides improved robustness against uncertainties about the system. In addition, the predictive current control provides improved accuracy in current tracking and significantly reduces the time required to achieve a steady state. A disturbance observer is used to compensate for load disturbances and model errors in the motor model. The integrated control architecture is simulated and modeled in MATLAB/Simulink for a typical EV driving environment. The simulation framework produced faster and more accurate torque tracking than conventional PI-type vector controllers, as well as reduced torque ripple and improved disturbance rejection under similar operating conditions. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is a viable candidate for high-performance EV propulsion systems while acknowledging practical limitations such as chattering, tuning complexity, sampling time sensitivity, and the need for further experimental validation.