Switched reluctance drives: new aspects

A 1 kW switched reluctance drive is presented. The author introduces an efficient power converter requiring a small number of switches. An analytical model of the interactive behavior of the motor and the power converter is developed, which shows the drive to be essentially torque controlled. In order to improve the efficiency of the power converter, the author applies premagnetization. The necessity of time-leading activation of the power switches at higher speeds is demonstrated, and the optimal time lead is calculated. The controllability of torque, the premagnetization principle, and the time lead are studied experimentally, and the results agree quite well with the theoretical model.<<ETX>>