Some paragraphs from my 2017 technical review. Although I've revised my detailed assessment regarding a few specifics my investigation opened my eyes on just how far electric motor and motor control technology has come in a relative short period of time and it's also absolutely clear that we've just scratched the surface. And it doesn't take a huge corporation with unlimited resources to develop. The future is clear and there's tons of creative people just like us working in small labs everywhere experimenting with and advancing this old tech. The possibility that an individual or small company such as Alta has developed the "next step forward" is very real. It was with this "possibility" in mind that I made the assessment below. While probably not 100% correct the real takeaway is that Alta probably does have some valuable IP hidden somewhere inside our bikes.
From 2017 . . . . . . . .
Alta needed a control system which would allow them to reshape the typical electric motor torque vs speed curve into something much more appropriate for the task. The electronic equivalent of turning a 250 trials bike into a fire breathing 250F with a few key strokes. FOC allows this “reshaping” to happen electronically. However, as with any IC engine, reshaping the torque curve is usually a compromise. To gain in one area means a loss in another. In other words, the “area under the curve” stays the same. If Alta wanted to improve on one major characteristic flaw of the IC engine this would be it!
That’s exactly where I think Alta has changed the rules by successfully designing and implementing a “variable flux memory motor system”. As discussed, a “variable flux memory” motor is one where the flux (magnetic strength) generated by the rotor permanent magnets can actually be controlled by changing the effective magnetization state of the magnets themselves. Wow, that’s a mouthful. However, by doing so I think it made the Redshift a viable option.
To this end, I believe Alta developed a specialized version of FOC which, when combined with a motor rotor incorporating the features explained in the motor section, can force some or all of the rotor magnets to become REVERSABLY demagnetized. Demagnification significantly reduces the performance damaging back EMF inherent with a PM motor, particularly at higher speeds, which otherwise limits the speed range of the motor. In fact, this type of system probably takes the motor from a rated 3000 rpm top speed to the advertised 14,000! That’s almost a 500% (5X) increase! And it’ll still have decent torque at 14 grand to boot. This significantly extended speed range also has a name, “Constant Power”. Since power is torque AND speed dependent this name suggests that as RPMs increase and torque decreases but power stays the same. This is perfect for fast and continuous acceleration all the way to top speed! At lower speeds when back EMF is not an issue, the same magnets can again be fully re-magnetized resulting in the higher(rated) torque production needed to accelerate from a standstill even at the VERY high final drive gearing needed for 60+ mph. It’s the equivalent of starting your 250F in5th gear and still being able to dig a trench out of the gate. Quite an achievement.
But there’s more. I think Alta also figured out a way to physically (rotor) and electronically (FOC) boost slow speed performance above rated torque as well. Again, I think the answer involves combinations of magnets whose magnetizing state has been selectively altered along with the more traditional (although less efficient) phase angle changes to produce a net torque from both magnetic and reluctance interactions that exceeds the maximum value of either one individually. Phase angle is somewhat analogous to ignition/valve timing on an ICE.
With this added capability the FOC system can reshape BOTH ends of the torque/speed curve without excessively relying on the inefficiencies associated with continuous field boosting or weakening. It’s a win –win! Instead, to change magnet states, the FOC system simply needs to supply a onetime high intensity “pulse” of current at just the right time to the right phase. The magnitude and direction (Pos or Neg) of the pulse determines the state (+/-) and magnetic strength of the PMs. At a minimum, I would expect 4 states; 100% mag strength, 50% mag strength, 0% mag strength and -100% mag strength. Pretty sweet if true.
The possible combinations of AC current control along with TWO flux controls (phase angle and PM magnet state) that can satisfy any particular operating condition (load) can get pretty complicated. However, when the requirement is to do so most efficiently is added the possible combinations reduce drastically. On an IC engine, this would be analogous to testing different combinations of ignition and valve timings at various throttle openings and loads and then looking for the combinations that offer the best performance at the best fuel economy. And like IC engines, this is where actual motor dyno work is necessary. By trying all the viable combinations of controls on the motor dyno the best ones for every operating condition can be found and combined into simple lookup tables. This saves the FOC a bunch of computing power and time. Again, not unlike the way timing and fuel injection is done on IC engines.
So, what does the ICE equivalent dyno chart look like after loading the optimized control mapping into the FOC? Well, based on information derived from Alta’s website it appears Alta front loaded the torque curve (constant torque) and then gradually reduces torque as motor RPM increased (constant speed). Frankly, not totally unlike that of an ICE engine but without the torque multiplying benefit of a transmission. In fact, based on data from Alta, if you connected the bumpy torque peaks for each gear of a typical 250F with a smooth fitted curve it would look very similar to the reshaped torque curve for the Redshift. Based on this it’s easy to conclude the Alta is superior on the “paper dyno” as there’s definitely “more area under the power curve”. Plus the Alta exceeds the 250F at every point along the curve! This squares with Alta’s goals to produce an electric bike that felt (throttle response, engine braking, speed, etc) like a typical ICE bike only better. I don’t have any efficiency numbers to quote but I suspect the average is above 90%. Therefore, on paper both power and efficiency are quite remarkable.
My following explanation on how FOC works is much simpler than it really is but it’s adequate enough for the purpose of this paper. FOC works by measuring specific real time motor currents and voltages along with the exact position (rotor angle) and speed of the motor’s rotor. An onboard FOC computer processes this information in a series of relatively complicated algorithms (Forward and Reverse Clark and Park Transformations) resulting in the two previously mentioned simple numerical values representing ACTUAL Torque and Flux. These values are then compared to the DESIRED values (throttle position) and if different will alter the voltages going to each motor phase until the two values match. It’s a closed loop system. This “process” happens literally thousands of time per second making for very precise speed control, even at very low motor rpms. Of course, the FOC computer can’t handle the motor’s high voltages and currents directly so a system for “scaling up” the motor control signals must be incorporated. This process is generically called modulation. In this case, a particular type of modulation known as Space Vector Modulation.
Space Vector Modulation is a type of Pulse Wave Modulation (PWM). It takes the control signals from the FOC systems and converts them into a digital form required by the Inverter to generate the desired high power 3 Phase sinusoidal waveforms needed to power the motor. The conversion is somewhat convoluted to explain but it involves several look-up tables and some fancy formulas/calculations. The speed and complexity of the process dictates that a specialized processor and associated circuitry be used. Again, there are several types of PWM to choose from, but SVM PWM results in lower switching loses and can utilize 100% of the bus voltage where others are around 85%.
Although not exactly new, the basic forms of SVM and FOC typically require quite a few physical interconnects along with the resulting losses in harness pin outs and wiring. I believe Alta has managed to combine many of the critical signals onto a very high data rate CAN network. This would be a relatively significant accomplishment as these kind of signals are typically hardwired due to current CAN (and CAN like) technology limitations. This all gets back to energy efficiency as discussed.