A novel converter topology for switched reluctance motor drives improving efficiency and simplifying control strategy

There has been a growing demand for switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive systems for diverse applications such as pumps, fans, traction, appliances and aerospace. In response to the needs, this paper proposes a novel converter for switched reluctance motors. Compared to the conventional converter topologies which have switching losses due to voltage choppings to control phase currents, the proposed converter eliminates the switching losses by introducing a buck-converter at the front end. This paper includes the topology descriptions, analysis and system operations and verifies the characteristics experimentally using a laboratory prototype