160,000-r/min, 2.7-kW Electric Drive of Supercharger for Automobiles

This paper describes an ultra high-speed permanent-magnet synchronous motor drive for a supercharger of an automobile internal combustion engine. Conventional superchargers are mechanically linked to and driven by the engine to compress vaporized fuel/air mixture to the engine cylinder. This mechanical linkage does not allow using a high-speed centrifugal compressor, which features higher efficiency and higher boost pressure than a positive displacement compressor. However, an ultra high-speed electric drive makes it possible to use the centrifugal compressor and to improve total system efficiency and the boost pressure response because of no mechanical linkage to the engine. In addition, higher controllability of the boost pressure can be obtained by the electric drive of the supercharger, combining power electronics with the internal combustion engine system. In this paper, a 160,000-r/min, 2.7-kW permanent-magnet synchronous motor drive is discussed and its experimental test results are presented to show excellent performances of the proposed system