A Novel Method to Minimize Force Ripple of Multimodular Linear Switched Reluctance Actuators/Motors

Force ripple is the main disadvantage of conventional linear switched reluctance actuators/motors (LSRAs/LSRMs). Based on finite element analysis (FEA), a new method to minimize force ripple is proposed for multimodular LSRAs/LSRMs in this paper. First, the force distribution of an LSRA/LSRM module is computed by using FEA. Then, the scheme of the spatial distribution of modules is developed. Finally, the modular spatial displacement is optimized to minimize force ripple. The computed results based on the FEA demonstrate the proposed method. The proposed method does not require any change in both module design and motor control. Thus, it is simple, cost-low, feasible, and effective.