A new magnetic flux pattern to improve the efficiency of the switched reluctance motor

A novel configuration of the switched reluctance motor is proposed in which the windings are arranged to provide short flux paths within the motor. This decreases the current required to establish the flux in the airgap. The motor has an odd number of phase windings with five or seven predicted to be the optimum. A novel power converter has also been developed which makes the control of these motors possible without excessive numbers of power switches. Finite-element analysis was used to model the effects of the short flux loops. A prototype seven-phase motor was designed and built. Test results are presented which indicate the improvements in performance offered by the new design