Development and Experimental Validation of a Field-Oriented Control Voltage Source Inverter for Formula Student Electric Vehicles

Lucas P. da Silva; Gierri Waltrich; Daniel J. Regner; Tiago L. F. da C. Pinto

doi:10.18618/REP.e202557

Authors

Lucas P. da Silva Federal University of Santa Catarina https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7797-574X
Gierri Waltrich Federal University of Santa Catarina https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0968-8975
Daniel J. Regner Federal University of Santa Catarina https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4529-8335
Tiago L. F. da C. Pinto Federal University of Santa Catarina https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8856-0648

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18618/REP.e202557

Keywords:

Electric drive systems, Electric vehicles, Field-oriented control, Power electronics, Inverter design

Abstract

This paper presents the development and validation of a high-reliability three-phase voltage source inverter, designed with field-oriented control (FOC) and space vector modulation (SVM) techniques for use in a Formula Student electric vehicle. Emphasis was placed on achieving efficient power conversion, robust control under variable conditions, and seamless integration with the vehicle's high-voltage and telemetry systems. The inverter was initially validated through Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulations, followed by bench testing to refine control loop performance, sensor feedback conditioning, and fault protection strategies. Real-world operation during the 2024 Formula SAE Brazil competition demonstrated the inverter’s effectiveness, achieving consistent performance, energy efficiency, and thermal stability under dynamic racing conditions. The system's design and validation methodologies contributed directly to competitive success, with the inverter achieving the highest evaluation score in the powertrain category. These results confirm the inverter’s robustness, efficiency, and suitability for high-demand electric drive applications, offering a strong foundation for future advancements in vehicular power electronics systems.

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Author Biographies

Lucas P. da Silva, Federal University of Santa Catarina

earned a technical qualification in Electronics from the Federal Institute of Santa Catarina (IFSC) in 2019 and is currently completing his B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil. He has worked with real-time simulation, embedded motor-control systems, and power-electronics converter development through research activities at the Institute of Power Electronics (INEP/UFSC) and an internship at Typhoon HIL, focusing on high-performance HIL models and custom toolchain development. From 2020 to 2025, he contributed to the Ampera Racing Formula SAE Electric team, where he led the design and experimental validation of a three-phase traction inverter for electric-vehicle applications. He is currently undertaking an Electronics \& ERS Systems Student Placement at Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) in Milton Keynes, working on hybrid power-unit technologies for Formula 1. His main interests include electric-vehicle propulsion systems, real-time HIL simulation, motor control, embedded systems and power electronics.

Gierri Waltrich, Federal University of Santa Catarina

received his B.Sc. (2007) and M.Sc. (2009) degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil, and his Ph.D. degree (2013) in Electrical Engineering from the Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, specializing in power electronics. He is currently a Full Professor with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UFSC, working with the Instrumentation and Automation Laboratory (LABMETRO) and the Institute of Power Electronics (INEP). He is also a permanent faculty member of UFSC’s Graduate Program in Electrical Engineering (PPGEEL). His research interests include electric vehicles, multilevel converters, dc–dc, dc–ac and ac–ac power conversion, smart grids, and advanced measurement methods.

Daniel J. Regner, Federal University of Santa Catarina

received his B.Sc. degree in Control and Automation Engineering and his M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering, with a focus on metrology and instrumentation, both from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil. He has over five years of experience in petroleum pipeline inspection using aerial robots, having developed an automatic inspection system employed in his master’s research. He is currently a researcher working primarily in computer vision.

Tiago L. F. da C. Pinto, Federal University of Santa Catarina

received his B.Sc. degree in Control and Automation Engineering from Universidade Paulista (1998), where he received two merit awards from CREA-SP and the Engineering Institute. He obtained his M.Sc. degree in Scientific and Industrial Metrology (2001) and his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering, with concentration in Metrology and Instrumentation (2010), both from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UFSC. His research interests include scientific and industrial metrology, optical and dimensional metrology, coordinate metrology, measurement automation, mechatronic systems for inspection, robotics, RPAS (drones), and system integration.

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