Comparative Assessment of Converter Topologies for Switched Reluctance Motor Drives

Switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives are more popular due to their attractive features as compared to other conventional motors. The overall performance of the SRM drive system can be resolved by choosing an appropriate power electronic converter. In this paper, the performance analysis of the 3-phase 6/4 SRM drive, using different power converters, is presented. The comparison is made among the different converter topologies in terms of parameters such as torque ripple, commutation time, number of power devices used, and overall cost of the drive. The results show that an asymmetric bridge (ASB) converter is best for high-performance applications. This paper also introduces a new improved ASB (IASB) converter with a minimum number of switches. The simulation results of the 6/4 SRM drive system have been carried through MATLAB/Simulink tool. An experimental prototype has also been validated and the results demonstrated that the proposed converter is more preferable than other converters.