Development of an Even-Phase Switched Reluctance Motor Drive for Torque Performance Improvement

The quality of electromagnetic torque is an important factor in evaluating the operational performance of switched reluctance motors (SRMs). However, a conventional even-phase SRM cannot maintain symmetrical electromagnetic torque at all times of a single rotor cycle, which significantly increases the torque ripple and vibration noise. Here, to enhance torque performance, this article develops a novel even-phase SRM drive considering torque symmetry and response improvement. First, the mechanism underlying asymmetric torque phenomena are analyzed and presented. Second, the possible winding connection types of even-phase SRMs with odd teeth are explored. Then, magnetic circuit distributions are analyzed to optimize the winding connection types and eliminate the asymmetric torque phenomenon. Next, an improved self-boost converter is proposed to enhance the current dynamics and torque response. Subsequently, a light control algorithm is presented to drive the SRM. In addition, performance evaluation results are reported to demonstrate the validity of the torque symmetry and response performance improvement for even-phase SRMs. Finally, the theoretical analysis and simulation results are experimentally validated.