Design and Analysis of Brushless Doubly Fed Reluctance Machines

Brushless doubly fed reluctance machines (BDFRMs) are a class of machines that may be controlled using a power converter that has a rating lower than the total power rating of the machine. The attractive properties of these machines have, in the past, been offset by low power density and efficiency when compared to other types of machines. Recent advances have shown that, when well designed, these machines are, in fact, capable of operation at high torque density and efficiency. However, little guidance on how to design these machines is available in the literature. This paper presents analytical approaches to design a BDFRM with desirable qualities and the use of time-stepped finite-element analysis to validate the results of the design process.