Switched Reluctance Motor

Part 3

Prof. Dr. Eyhab Aly Kamel

The various types of switched

reluctance motor
 Changing the Design of the Switched Reluctance Motors

Simply improving the switched reluctance motor's energy

conversion requires changing the magnetic circuit topology and
minimizing losses. Magnetic geometries of switched reluctance
machines have been successfully established for a very long time.
In order to enhance the switching reluctance motor's energy
conversion process, this lecture explain magnetic circuit
topologies. Switched reluctance motors are always in a transient
state because they operate by switching between phases. Due to
the switching frequency, the iron losses are therefore significant
in compared to those of the other electrical machines. From this
angle, it is required to modify the switched reluctance motor's
magnetic circuit in a certain way in order to reduce the losses.
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 SRMs, permanent magnet motors, and induction motors are
the three types of electric motors used in drive applications.
While permanent magnet motors have the problem of pricey
magnets, induction motors have the problem of high copper
losses in both the rotor and stator. SRMs are the attention of the
motor designers due to their advantages, such as their high
specific output torque (torque/volume) and the absence of any
type of copper winding or permanent magnets on the rotor.
Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) are also easy to construct
and reliable. The rotor is devoid of coil windings, brushes,
commutators, and permanent magnets. Due to its inherent
simplicity, SRM offers benefits of dependable and economical
variable-speed drives.
 In switched reluctance machines, the magnetic geometry
has been effectively fixed for a long time. A set of stator teeth
or poles, which are magnetically coupled to one another by a
core back, and a set of rotor teeth, the magnetic circuit of
which is completed by a rotor core back, make up the
essential components of the SRM. The conventional designs
of the switched reluctance motor must be replaced by a
modified design of the switched reluctance motors in order to
meet the growing demands in current electric drives with
regard to efficient energy conversion.

Additionally, the SRM's effective energy conversion process

means that losses, torque ripples, and converter costs are all
kept to a minimum. The lecture describes various methods for
changing the magnetic circuit topology of the SRM in order to
create new SRM designs with effective energy conversion
mechanisms.
Rolled-Rotor SRM

A typical 6/4 toothed-rotor SRM is shown in Fig. 1. Every phase's

excitations are situated on the diameter. The long flux path is
depicted in the figure. This indicates that the flux density is low.
Consequently, the output torque was not optimized.

Fig. 1 Long Flux in the Conventional Toothed-Rotor SRM

The Flux-Linkage trajectory inside the 6/4 short pitch
SRM is depicted in Fig. 2 together with the flux-
linkage characteristic of the SRM. The area between
the aligned and the unaligned positions in any SRM
varies in response to the output torque. For the SRM
to produce a significant amount of output torque,
deep saturation operation is required. This means
that the air gap must be very small, or that it must be
as short as feasible (the mechanical consideration
puts the limit on the minimum air gap length).
Because of this, it is not recommended to use the
conventional SRM in many applications or to operate
it at a torque level below its maximum to prevent
overheating.
 Fig. 2 The Characteristic of 6/4 SRM and Inside it the Flux- Linkage
Trajectory
The sections of short air gap lengths that become overheated when the
conventional SRM works in the deep saturation region are shown in Fig. 3.
 Fig. 3 Regions of Overheated when the Conventional SRM Operates in
the Deeply Saturated Region
This section explains another design for the SRM that performs similarly to the conventional
toothed rotor while having a smaller area of narrow air gaps. The proposed design is a rolled-
rotor SRM with a single, rather tiny air gap. A cross section of the suggested rolled-rotor SRM
is shown in Fig. 4.a. The rotor is aligned and the stator has three phase windings. Unlike any
typical SRM, which has at least two regions of narrow air gaps, there is only one narrow air gap
in the figure. The magnetic flux plot is shown in Fig. 4.b, and it is obvious that the magnetic flux
routes are much shorter than those in the typical SRM, which maximizes the flux density.
a) One Phase Energized and Small Region
of Narrow Air gap which is the Cause
of Heating inside the SRM

b) Magnetic Flux Plot in the Aligned

Position

Fig. 4 Rolled-Rotor SRM and the Magnetic

Flux Plot
Fig. 5 illustrates a torque ripples comparison between the conventional SRM
and the rolled-rotor SRM. The use of the rolled rotor in the SRM smoothes the
air gap consequently the torque ripples decreases in the rolled rotor.

a) High Torque Ripples in the b) Low Torque Ripples in the Rolled-

Conventional SRM Rotor SRM

Fig. 5 Comparison between the Torque Ripples in both the New and the
Conventional SRM(s)
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Applying the Principle of Shifting Half the Stator Teeth by a Certain Angle
to Minimize the Torque Ripples
Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a typical SRM with one side of the stator
offset from the other by an angle. The purpose of shifting is to change the form
of the torque characteristic, which is the total of the two portions; nevertheless,
at a specific shifting angle, the torque ripples are smaller than they are when
there is no shift. The magnitude of the shifting angle will determine how little
ripple this new torque characteristic will have.

Fig. 6 Conventional
SRM
its Stator is Divided
into Two Sections
between them Angle
Using this idea to understand the rolled-rotor SRM. There is an angle
between the two equal parts of the stator of the rolled-rotor SRM. The
generated torque characteristics of the two stators of the rolled-rotor
SRM are shown in Fig. 7 for various separated angles.

Fig. 7 Torque Characteristic for the Divided Stator Rolled-Rotor SRM

From Fig. 7 at angle 81 mechanical degrees the torque characteristic has the lowest
possible torque ripples.
Two Hollow Cylinders Rotor SRM
A traditional two-pole SRM with a toothed rotor is shown in Fig. 8; the stator
has 12 teeth and the rotor has 2. The SRM is built according to industry
standards; the stator and rotor teeth are both the same width. The stator
winding connections are of short pitch.

Aligned Position Unaligned Position

Fig. 8 Conventional 12/2 Toothed Rotor SRM

A cross section of the suggested new SRM design is shown in Fig. 9.
In this design, the rotor is made up of two cylinders, completely
altering the rotor topology. The air gap is graded, which eliminates the
need for a shaft and smooths out resistance variation to lessen output
torque ripples. The stator contains six thick return flux teeth and six
thin ones that are wide to amplify and concentrate the flux passing
from the stator to the rotor.

Aligned Position Unaligned Position

Fig. 9 Two Hollow Cylinders Rotor SRM
The aligned and unaligned locations, which define the SRM's major extreme
positions, are the aligned and unaligned positions, respectively. Any SRM's
contained space between the aligned and unaligned positions has a relationship
with output torque. The aligned and unaligned positions of two distinct designs the
novel and the traditional are contrasted in Fig. 10. The image makes it evident that
the new design boosts output torque for a variety of reasons, including better use of
the interior space of the motor and increased rotor saliency.

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5

Fig. 10 Comparing the Characteristic of the New SRM with its

Equivalent Conventional SRM
Tapered Stator Teeth SRM
This section introduces a tapered stator teeth SRM as a method to enhance
the energy conversion process by increasing the efficiency of the energy
conversion between the stator and the rotor by lowering the losses in the
magnetic flux through the air gap when it transfers from the stator to the
rotor. Two parallel side teeth are seen on a 6/8 SRM in Fig. 11. To accurately
model this machine and acquire its characteristics, the adaptive finite
element approach is used.

Phase windings location Fig. 11 The Characteristic of

the 6/8 SRM
The resultant magnetic vector potential shown against the MMF in Fig. 11
shows the adaptive finite element's derived flux-linkage characteristic for
the traditional 6/8 SRM. In Fig. 12, the tips of the stator teeth are tapered to
reduce flux losses as it moves from the stator to the rotor and so enhance
the flux linkage in the rotor, which in turn increases the produced torque
from the SRM.

One Phase Energized in the Aligned Position

 Fig. 12 The Tapered Stator Teeth SRM and its Characteristic

Fig. 12 compares the aligned and the unaligned characteristic of the

tapered and non-tapered stator teeth 6/8 SRM. It is clear from the
figure that the area increased due to tapering the stator teeth tips.
Disc Type Switched Reluctance Motor

This section describes a new type of switching reluctance

motor with a very high output torque. A multi-circular rotor is
used in place of the traditional electrical machine's toothed
rotor to boost saliency and shorten magnetic flux loops, which
increases output torque.

Fig. 13 Multi-Circular Rotor Switched Reluctance Motor

Fig. 14 shows the proposed new
rotor; the rotor having a plurality of
rotor elements, the rotor elements
being spaced out by a non-
magnetic material. Each rotor
element is in the form of a circular
disk mounted on the shaft, each
rotor element comprising a plurality
of magnetically isolated magnetic
teeth arranged in an annular
portion of the circular disk. Fig. 14 Disc-Type Rotor

In the slot with the energised conductor,

Fig. 15 shows the short magnetic flux
path. A high output torque is anticipated
since the flux path is short and the flux
2
0

density is high.

Fig. 15 One Short Flux Loop in Multi-circular Rotor SRM

Cross Section of the Stator Cross Section of the Rotor
a) Rotor Poles Align Themselves with
Magnetic Flux Plot Aligned Position
the Energized Phase Windings

b) Rotor Poles Unaligned Themselves

Magnetic Flux Plot Unaligned Position
with the Energized Phase Windings
Flux Density Aligned Position

Flux Density Unaligned Position

A cross section of a conventional 12/8 SRM is shown in Fig. 16; its characteristics
are contrasted with those of the disc-rotor SRM in Fig. 17.
Fig. 16 Cross Section of the
Conventional Toothed Rotor SRM

The output torque is

proportional to the space
between the aligned and the
out-of-alignment positions.
According to Fig. 17, the region
between the aligned and
unaligned positions in the disc- Fig. 17 Comparison between the Aligned and the
rotor SRM is twice as large as
it would be for a conventional Unaligned Positions in the New Design and
SRM of equal size.
Conventional Design of SRM