Development of an improved switched reluctance motor drive using a soft-switching converter

The use of soft-switching converters in association with switched reluctance motors (SRM) potentially allows the fabrication of motor drives with increased power density and with better efficiency than other types of drive system. Additionally, the SRM can be operated with hgh reliability at very high speeds in harsh environments. As a result, a soft-switched SRM drive system can compete favourably with other drive types, in applications where compactness and robustness are required. In ths work, the feasibility of a soft-switched reluctance drive is evaluated using simulations and validated with experimental results.