IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Printed circuit board (PCB) motors present a compelling alternative to commercial electric motors due to their cost-effective mass production. Furthermore, integrated motor drives have gained popularity thanks to their high power density and ease of installation. However, PCB motors face challenges due to their large effective air gap and fewer turns, resulting in low phase inductance. This article addresses these challenges by pairing the PCB motor with wide-bandgap devices and increasing the switching frequency to eliminate current ripple while reducing the size of filtering components, ultimately achieving a compact and efficient motor drive. The study explores various filtering options and decides upon for an L filter with line inductors on the motor phases. The losses of the system are analytically evaluated to a great extend leading to a selection of the switching frequency which is 1 MHz. Theoretical loss calculations are validated for both the electrical machine and inverter by means of calorimetric and electrical measurements. Finally, the integrated system is tested in motoring mode, operating at 5000 rpm and delivering 0.36 Nm of torque, resulting in an 82% efficiency. The article concludes that increasing the switching frequency is a feasible solution for low inductance motor drives.