Speed control of SRM drives using a new power converter configuration in electric vehicles

A switched reluctance motor has several features, including simple construction, high reliability, possible operation in high temperature, inherent fault tolerance, and low manufacturing cost make it more attractive for electric vehicle application. However, large torque ripple, acoustic noise and vibration are its major drawbacks. This paper present a five-phase SRM drive which features higher torque production, low torque ripple, very low level of vibration with flexibility in control. The proposed drive is using a new and low-cost converter configuration in which, unlike in the previously proposed SRM drives a pair of phase winding is sharing one diode and one IGBT. Thus reducing the total number of semiconductor devices. The detailed analysis and operation of proposed converter is presented. This paper also present a computation of optimal turn-on and turn-off angle based on non-linear model.