Switched Reluctance Motor

Part 1

Prof. Dr. Eyhab Aly Kamel

The Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) is a variable reluctance stepping motor that
is designed to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy efficiently. It belongs
to the class of machines that depend upon magnetic reluctance variation to
produce torque.

(a) One Tooth per Pole (b) Two Teeth per Pole
Fig. 1 Conventional SRM
As seen in Fig. 1 the SRM has a very simple, robust and rugged structure. The
stator and rotor are made of laminated iron. The rotor is a brushless toothed
structure with no windings or magnets; all of the windings are found in the stator.
Because of the rotor's great strength and exceptionally low rotor losses, high speed
operation is possible. Because the rotor has no windings or magnets, the motor
can operate between -100oC and +250oC. It is stated that the inexpensive price of
the SRM is due to its straightforward manufacture.
 E le c tri c M o to rs

DC
AC

A sy n c h ro n o u s S y n c h ro n o u s

In d u c t io n

B ru sh le s s D C S in e w a v e H y ste r e s is S tep R e lu c ta n c e

S y n c h ro n o u s S w itc h e d
R e lu c ta n c e R e lu c ta n c e

Fig. 2 Classification of Electric Motors

There are two categories of reluctance motors, synchronous and switched, as
depicted in Fig. 2. In general, sinusoidal current is used to excite synchronous
motors, which are classified as singly salient (just the rotor is salient). Compared
to switched reluctance motors, which are categorised as doubly salient since they
contain salient rotors and stators. Typically, unidirectional current pulses are used
to excite the phase windings, with rotor position controlling the time of the pulses.

As shown in Fig. 3, the switching reluctance motor has various benefits over
conventional electric motors utilised in drive applications. The main benefit is the
simple, low cost construction. However, the SRM has two key drawbacks: it can
experience loud acoustic noise and has significant torque characteristic ripples. By
altering the magnetic circuit's design and employing new control methods, these
impacts can be minimised.
 Fig. 3 Motors used in Drive Applications

Fig. 4 depicts the block diagram of a conventional switching reluctance drive. The
switching reluctance motor cannot be operated directly from a straightforward DC
supply or sinusoidal AC source, unlike induction motors or DC motors. In order to
energise each phase with a current pulse at the proper moments in time, it requires
a power electronic converter fed from a DC source. The flux in the switching
reluctance motor must be set up from zero at each working step because it is not
continuous. A power converter circuit must deliver unipolar current pulses that are
precisely timed to correspond with the phase windings' rising inductance periods.
Due to the fact that SRMs are electronically commutated, some method of rotor
position detection is required. Therefore, it is desirable to feed the control board
with rotor position data from a shaft mounted sensor. To satisfy the (torque and
speed) demand placed on the drive by the load, the power converter must
additionally manage the amount of the current. There should be a phase current
measuring device and current regulator.

Fig. 4 SRM Circuit

The tendency of the rotor to seek a position of least reluctance or
maximum phase inductance, and the subsequent conversion of
some of the field energy to mechanical energy, results in the
development of torque when one phase is excited. Alternately, the
machine could be thought of as being in a state where, upon
stimulating a single stator pole, all positions are unstable with the
exception of the aligned position, which is the only stable position.
The magnitude of the instantaneous torque created varies over
time, and its average relies on the waveform of the excitation
current and when it passes relative to the rotor position. The
switching reluctance motor's speed and torque are adjusted by the
control circuit by adjusting the excitation level and sequence.
SRM Design

 Due to advancements in the electromagnetic analysis of doubly salient motors,

lamination geometry may now be optimised for specific uses. Software is
available for developing control techniques as well as for predicting the SRM's
dynamic performance and static characteristics.

 SRMs have more design possibilities than the majority of other machine types.
There are the ostensible difficulties of various pole combinations, phase
numbers, available pole arc ranges, etc. These present the designer with an
entirely new set of issues. Prior to being altered and enhanced, the magnetic
geometry of SRMs had virtually been fixed for many years. A series of stator
teeth or poles, which are magnetically coupled to one another by a core back,
and a number of rotor teeth, the magnetic circuit of which is completed by a
rotor core back, make up the main elements of the structure.
 It is widely known how the tooth width affects torque output and acoustic noise. It
has also been established how the pole number affects mean torque and how to
create designs that minimise torque ripple. The ideal tooth tip form and whether
the tooth should be tapered have both been investigated. Although multi-tooth
per pole designs have been researched, they haven't really taken off, therefore
the geometry effectively stays the same. The majority of the time, the rotor and
stator teeth are straight or just slightly tapered; the tooth width of both is typically
33-50% of the pole pitch, and the tooth tips lack significant pole shoes.

 The electrical design of SRMs has become more varied. The majority still employ
short end-windings and straightforward focused windings that are wrapped
around a single tooth due of their simplicity. However, there have been
advancements that use fully pitched windings to boost a machine's electrical
efficiency and enhance torque capacity at the expense of a longer end-winding.
 The precise determination of the machine's interaction between
the excitation current and magnetic flux connecting the windings is
essential for SRM design. Although numerous design programmes
have been created using analytical approximations, these are not
sufficiently generic to include more extreme design changes. For
predicting machine characteristics in this work, the finite element
method was selected. Modelling complex geometries, including
magnetic saturation, provides a highly adaptable design tool.
The Characteristic of the Switched Reluctance Motor

The Flux-Linkage vs current characteristic of the SRM is essential to its

performance. The two extreme positions that characterise this motor are the
alignment position, where the inductance is maximized, and the unalignment
position, where the inductance is minimized. The torque increases with the
distance between them. To compare the average torque capacities of various SRM
designs, the area bounded by the aligned and unaligned positions can be
employed (the same length and diameter).
 Fig. 5 Magnetic Flux Plot 12/8 Short Pitched SRM at the Aligned Position

The phase inductance reaches its highest value when the SRM is aligned. The
majority of the reluctance occurs in the air gap at low current levels, however even
at these low current levels, the long journey through the stator yoke can absorb a
substantial MMF and significantly lower the aligned inductance. Inductance in the
aligned position rises as a result of shortening the flux path.
 Fig. 6 Magnetic Flux Plot of 12/8 Short Pitched SRM at the Unaligned
Position
Due to the wide air gap between the stator and the rotor, the magnetic reluctance
of the flux path is at its largest in the unaligned position, which results in the phase
inductance being at its lowest. The reluctance of the air gap is substantially higher
than that of the iron portions.
Fig. 7 Typical C/C’s of a SRM
A representative flux linkage trajectory and the SRM's characteristics are
shown in Fig. 7. The features for a specific machine design are set, but
the flux linkage trajectory depending on how the SRM is operating. The
maximum air gap length and the longest flux path are in the unaligned
position. This indicates that there is no or little saturation since the flux
density is low (the relation between the flux linkage and the current at the
unaligned position is linear or approximately linear). In the case of the
aligned position, the air gap is small, the flux path is short, and the flux
density is high, causing saturation; this position has the maximum
saturation in the machine.

The nonlinear nature of torque variation is demonstrated in Fig. 8 by a

typical fluctuation of torque with respect to location for a variety of
different current levels.
 Fig. 8 Typical Static-Torque C/C’s (e.g. 12/8 SRM)

Modelling and Simulation of the SRM Drive System

The machine performance has been predicted analytically from the fundamental
equation of the terminal voltage of any machine
A numerical approach to the simulation of SRMs has been introduced in. The flux-
linkage can be determined from this equation
 Fig. 9 The Block Diagram of SRM Simulation

Fig. 9 is the block diagram of the SRM simulation. The flux linkage characteristic
data is taken from an adaptive finite element solution of the magnetic
characteristics; it is stored in tables (one for the flux-linkage characteristic and one
for the torque), then loaded in to a simulation of the SRM using Matlab/Simulink.
Torque Ripple

Torque ripple, an inherent weakness of SRMs, limits their utilisation. A reluctance

torque is created when a pair of stator poles are powered by a pair of rotor poles
in any misaligned position. As the rotor poles approach the aligned position,
inductance increases until the rotor poles align with the excited pair of stator poles.
As inductance rises, torque rises because dL/d is positive.

As the excited stator poles are passed by the rotor poles, inductance begins to
decrease. This causes dL/d to be negative, indicating the production of a braking
torque. To avoid this braking effect on the rotor, the current from the phase is cut
off before the aligned position is attained, de-energizing the stator poles. The
energy is then or concurrently transferred to a second phase. As the inductance
between the second pair of stator poles and the rotor poles grows, the rotation
continues and positive torque is maintained.
In this way, the stator poles are energised and de-energized to provide continuous
rotation. The total torque is the sum of the various torques listed above. The torque
of the machine is not smooth since only one phase is powered at a time in a
conventional SRM. Torque dramatically decreases as it gets closer to the aligned
and misaligned places. This growing and decreasing torque phenomenon is known
as torque ripple, which is a significant problem for some applications. There are
four ways to reduce the torque ripple of a switching reluctance drive:

 Selecting the material for the rotor core.

 Shaping the magnetic circuit geometry.
 Shaping the phase current waveform.
 Applying appropriate control.

The optimum minimisation of torque ripple is achieved by the combined action of

all four approaches.
The performance of SRMs has been improved by SRM designers by finding ways
to boost their output torque, reduce losses, reduce torque ripple, and reduce
acoustic noise. The goal of the SRM designers is to create a new SRM design that
has a higher average torque capability than existing SRM designs. A new magnetic
circuit geometry, new winging configuration, or both are introduced by the new
design.

The Relation between the Flux-Linkage Characteristic and the SRM Output

The torque delivered by an SRM is given instantaneously by the rate of change of

co-energy in the machine. In moving from a rotor position, θ , through an angle δθ

the co-energy converted to torque is usually represented by the area between the
flux-linkage-current curves at angles θ and θ  δθ .
The area between the two flux-linkage characteristics at these extreme positions,
divided by the angle travelled, gives the mean torque created if current is applied
at the unaligned position and removed at the aligned position. Therefore, by
enlarging this area, any SRM designer can attempt to improve the SRM's output
torque. It should be noted that for a variety of reasons, including the permeance of
the iron, the inductance at the aligned position cannot be infinite, and the
inductance at the unaligned position cannot be 0 due to cross slot leakage flux.
Therefore, maximising the space between these two lines will be one of the SRM
designer's considerations.