Predictive Control Based Constant Current Injection Scheme for Characterization of Switched Reluctance Machine

A novel constant current injection-based characterization scheme for the switched reluctance machine (SRM) is proposed here. Unlike conventional characterization methods where the rotor is locked at a fixed position, the current injection-based method maintains the phase current constant while the machine runs at constant speed. A novel current controller, required for the proposed constant current injection scheme, is also proposed in this paper. The predictive control-based current controller works without the machine model being available. The proposed current controller is validated experimentally and is then used to characterize a 4 kW, 1500 r/min 8/6 pole SRM. The characteristics obtained are found to be in good agreement with those obtained using conventional locked rotor tests.