Nic Zhang

Dr. Nic Zhang

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

6Years (2021-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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12 April 2022 in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
Conggan MaConggan Ma
Conggan Ma
JLJiaming Li
Jiaming Li
NZNic Zhang
Nic Zhang
FBFeifei Bu
Feifei Bu
Zhi-Xin YangZhi-Xin Yang
Zhi-Xin Yang
By measuring the open-circuit radial stray magnetic flux density (RSMFD) of three spatial points, a novel diagnostic method for the eccentricity of interior permanent magnetic motors (IPMSMs) in electric vehicles is proposed. Outperforming traditional methods, the proposed method can noninvasively diagnose not only the severities of static eccentricity (SE), dynamic eccentricity (DE), and mixed eccentricity (ME), but also the eccentricity location. In this article, diagnosis results are described through three eccentricity parameters: SE ratio, DE ratio, and SE angle. First, an analytical model of the open-circuit RSMFD of the IPMSM is proposed, with its accuracy validated by experiments. The pattern of the impact of the eccentricity parameters on the open-circuit RSMFD is analyzed to form the basis of the proposed method. Then, an eccentricity prototype motor, which can continuously emulate the eccentricity according to any listed eccentricity parameters, is developed. A test rig is built to collect the open-circuit RSMFD and validate the analytical calculation results. Finally, an eccentricity diagnostic model based on the open-circuit RSMFD is established. The diagnosis results proved the noninvasiveness, effectiveness, and viability of the proposed method.

27 October 2021 in IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
YAYuansheng An
Yuansheng An
Conggan MaConggan Ma
Conggan Ma
NZNic Zhang
Nic Zhang
YGYue Guo
Yue Guo
MDMichele Degano
Michele Degano
SZShengsen Zhou
Shengsen Zhou
In an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) with segmented skewed poles, the armature reaction magnetic field (AR-MF) changes nonlinearly due to the saturation of the rotor magnetic barrier. Meanwhile, this varies under different excitation currents. As a result, it is difficult to be calculated by means of analytical methods. In this paper, the calculation model of AR-MF of IPMSM is first established by vector superposition method, without considering the saturation effect of rotor and the slotting effect of stator. In the second step, the virtual magnetic field of the rotor is introduced to quantitatively calculate the influence of local inhomogeneous saturation on the AR-MF. The latter is derived by combining both the subdomain method and equivalent magnetic circuit method. The complex relative permeance is also introduced to establish the AR-MF accounting for the stator slotting effect. To validate the AR-MF calculation method proposed, an 8-pole 48-slot IPMSM with segmented skewed poles is considered as a case study, showing a comparison by both with finite element (FE) results and the electromagnetic torque measured on a test bench. The model proposed in this paper shows high accuracy and fast computation with respect to FE analysis.

5 October 2021 in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
YAYuansheng An
Yuansheng An
Conggan MaConggan Ma
Conggan Ma
NZNic Zhang
Nic Zhang
YGYue Guo
Yue Guo
MDMichele Degano
Michele Degano
SZShengsen Zhou
Shengsen Zhou
Due to the local inhomogeneous magnetic saturation of the core of the interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM), the magnetic field changes nonlinearly, which makes the analytical calculation of the magnetic field difficult. Therefore, the calculation of the magnetic field mostly relies on the finite element method (FEM). However, the high computation cost of FEM restricts the efficiency of the design and analysis of IPMSM. In this article, an analytical model (AM) of slotless open-circuit air-gap magnetic field (OC-AG-MF) of IPMSM with V-shaped segmented skewed poles is derived by combining the subdomain method (SDM) and the magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) method, and then, the AM of slotted OC-AG-MF of IPMSM with V-shaped segmented skewed poles is obtained by introducing the complex relative permeance. To show the effectiveness of the novel AM, the OC-AG-MF and cogging torque of an IPMSM with V-shaped segmented skewed poles for electric vehicles are calculated by the AM and FEM, respectively. The spatial order, amplitude–frequency characteristics, and the 3-D spatial distribution of the OC-AG-MF are analyzed. Finally, the accuracy of the AM is experimentally verified by direct measurement of OC-AG-MF and no-load back electromotive force (EMF) of the motor. The AM proposed in this article is shown to accurately calculate the radial and tangential components of OC-AG-MF of IPMSM with V-shaped segmented skewed poles considering rotor magnetic bridge saturation effect and stator slotting effect. Meanwhile, the efficiency of the design and analysis of the motor is expected to be improved due to the reduced computational effort compared to the prevalent FEM.

24 November 2023 in Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
RSRongjian Sun
Rongjian Sun
Conggan MaConggan Ma
Conggan Ma
NZNic Zhang
Nic Zhang
CKChuyo Kaku
Chuyo Kaku
YZYu Zhang
Yu Zhang
QHQirui Hou
Qirui Hou

16 February 2023 in Journal of Vibration Engineering & Technologies
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PDF file
SZShengsen Zhou
Shengsen Zhou
Conggan MaConggan Ma
Conggan Ma
NZNic Zhang
Nic Zhang
YGYue Guo
Yue Guo
MDMichele Degano
Michele Degano
YAYuansheng An
Yuansheng An

27 September 2024 in Batteries
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
VSVicentiu-Iulian Savu
Vicentiu-Iulian Savu
CBChris Brace
Chris Brace
GEGeorg Engel
Georg Engel
NDNico Didcock
Nico Didcock
PWPeter Wilson
Peter Wilson
NZNic Zhang
Nic Zhang
Equivalent circuit models represent one of the most efficient virtual representations of battery systems, with numerous applications supporting the design of electric vehicles, such as powertrain evaluation, power electronics development, and model-based state estimation. Due to their popularity, their parameter extraction and model parametrization procedures present high interest within the research community, with novel approaches at an elementary level still being identified. This article introduces and compares in detail two novel parameter extraction methods based on the distinct application of least squares linear regression in relation to the autoregressive exogenous as well as the state-space equations of the double polarization equivalent circuit model in an iterative optimization-type manner. Following their application using experimental data obtained from an NCA Sony VTC6 cell, the results are benchmarked against a method employing differential evolution. The results indicate the least squares linear regression applied to the state-space format of the model as the best overall solution, providing excellent accuracy similar to the results of differential evolution, but averaging only 1.32% of the computational cost. In contrast, the same linear solver applied to the autoregressive exogenous format proves complementary characteristics by being the fastest process but presenting a penalty over the accuracy of the results.