Guest Editorial Emerging Electric Machines and Drives for Smart Energy Conversion

Abstract

Energy conversion is one of the key steps for human utilizing the energy. In particular, as the key component for electromechanical energy conversion, electric machines play a significant role and greatly promote the development of modern civilization. Actually, the conventional types of electric machines, namely DC machines, induction machines, and synchronous machines, as well as surface permanent-magnet (SPM) machines and inserted-PM (IPM) machines, have been widely applied for various aspects in human lives. In recent years, emerging electric machines, including the double-salient type, hybrid-excitation type, PM memory type, magnetic-gearing type, PM vernier type, advanced magnetless type, multiport type, and some newly developing types, are proposed for new application occasions such as electric vehicles (EVs), electric ships, electric aircraft, electric robotics, wind power generation, unmanned propulsion systems, and so on. In addition, the corresponding advanced control strategies have presented for electric drives, which include the direct torque control (DTC), field oriented control (FOC), finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC), fault-tolerant control, and sensorless control. Thus, emerging electric machines and drives take active roles for applications with more electric or full electric. This special section brings new findings of electric machines and drives on their topologies, structures, analysis approaches, advanced control strategies, and new applications.