An induction motor generates whenever the angular velocity of the rotor is greater than the angular velocity of the mmf (magnetomotive force) wave of the stator, so in that sense it is automatic. In a traction application these relative velocities are determined by the angular velocity of the vehicle wheels and the motor inverter which controls the angular velocity of the stator mmf wave.
There are two ways to control the mmf wave velocity with the Curtis 1238, Neutral Braking, and the Brake Input. Brian at HPEVS said that he sets up his vehicles using both. Others prefer one or the other, with still further division in what mechanism they use for the brake input - the brake pedal, a third pedal, lever on the steering column... You should email or call HPEVS for clarification, but I think the brake relay is for triggering the brake lights when regen is above a certain threshold as you say, but I've not used it. This ensures the brake lights turn on when the vehicle is slowing but the standard brake pedal relay has not been turned on due to using a lever for regen or the first 1/4" of brake pedal travel to trigger it, etc. I have an AC50 and am one of those who prefer to use neutral braking for regen control using the accelerator pedal. In this case, as the pedal is "eased up" the stator mmf wave velocity decreases and when it is less than the velocity of the rotor the motor starts generating. The brake input does the same thing, the signal from this input causes the inverter to decrease the stator mmf wave velocity. You can find endless debate on which control method of regen is "best". Quite a bit of this is poorly informed, with no data to back up claims made. All the methods I mentioned can be made to work, just depends on your preference. -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/REGEN-With-Curtis-1238-Controller-tp4677119p4677128.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
