I'm certainly no motor expert, so these are questions that Lee could (and probably has) answered. The TEVan does have interpoles, but it still had an arcing problem. Maybe the motor was not designed properly? More than likely it just wasn't enough motor for a 5,000 lb van. It's a 9" frame with an oil cooled center shaft in the rotor.
Rod Hower wrote: > Just for the record, the Dodge TEVan is separately excited. > Current limit is 300Amps and system voltage is 180Vdc > (typically 205Vdc open circuit and fully charged). The > biggest problem that I have noticed is arcing during regen. > The brushes are advanced for motoring operation, so in regen > it is not operating at it's optimum brush location. The > highest current that I have experienced in regen is 65 Amps at 210Vdc. > > I plan on replacing the IGBT's in the controller with higher > rated devices that have lower Vsat and switching losses. I > should be able to bump up current limit to 350-400amps. The > only problem with this is the motor will overheat in the > summer on hilly terrain if driven more than 15-20 miles. Hi Rod, Please bear with me here, since I'm no motor expert. Could your system's problem with arcing during regen be solved with interpoles (assuming interpoles could be added to a sep-ex motor)? I'm trying to understand if a modern, high-voltage sep-ex system could be put together by a hobbyist and a competent motor winding shop. If so, a rewound Kostov 11" motor and a home-grown or modified controller might be a viable option. There's another subtlety about interpoles and regen that I don't quite understand. Do interpoles *only* reduce arcing? That is, would changing brush timing for traction or regen still be a benefit if your motor has interpoles? Or do interpoles eliminate the need for different timing? Chris
