Analysis of Technical and Energy Indicators of a Multi-Motor Electric Drive for Urban Public Transport

The aim of this article was to analyze the profitability of using a multi-motor electric drive instead of a single-motor electric drive in a city vehicle to ensure the reduction of the electrical energy losses. To achieve the goal a mathematical model was used to calculate the energy losses in the singlemotor and multi-motor electric drives of a bus with a different number of traction induction motors. The calculation was carried out for the steady-state driving modes with different speeds and transient acceleration modes. The change in the load torque of the vehicle's motors due to the change in the rolling friction force of the wheels with a different number of passengers carried was taken into account. The novelty of the work is that the use of a multi-motor electric drive shown for the first time allowed the reduction in the energy losses in the traction induction electric motors when the vehicle is moving at a constant speed and during acceleration with a different number of passengers carried. Moreover, to obtain energy saving, the number of motors used in a multi-motor electric drive should vary depending on the speed and acceleration, as well as on the total load torque of the multi-motor drive. The formula was obtained analytically for the calculation of the number of motors of a multi-motor electric drive, which would ensure energy saving compared to a single-motor electric vehicle.