Fault detection and management system for fault tolerant switched reluctance motor drives

Fault-tolerance characteristics of the switched reluctance motor are discussed, and winding fault detectors are presented which recognize shorted motor windings. Logic circuitry in the inverter blocks the power switch gating signals of the affected phase at the receipt of a fault-detection signal from one of the fault detectors. The fault detectors were implemented on a laboratory drive system to demonstrate that faults can be contacted on a running drive system and be instantly detected and isolated without causing damage to the inverter and without causing drive misoperation.<>