Determination of instantaneous torque from airgap flux measurements in a switched reluctance motor

This paper presents the results of developing a magnetic field sensor that measures the air-gap flux inside an operating switched reluctance motor. Employing the giant magnetoresistive (GMR) effect associated with copper-cobalt nanowires, the computation of instantaneous torque in a switched reluctance machine is developed for real-time applications. Consideration is given to the number of sensors with respect to the accuracy of the resulting torque estimate. Results are given from a magnetic finite element study of a prototype switched reluctance machine that has been equipped with a GMR sensor array.