An Innovative Hybrid-Excited Multi-Tooth Switched Reluctance Motor for Torque Enhancement

Abstract

Permanent magnets (PMs) have been widely used in different types of electrical machines to improve their performance. This article introduces a novel multi-tooth hybrid-excited switched reluctance motor (MT-HESRM) with PMs placed between the end teeth of the adjacent modules. Thanks to the innovative method of embedding PMs, a unique design is developed. First, the operating principle of the motor is explained, and the magnetic circuit model of the motor is analyzed. The magnetic characteristics in terms of flux density, flux linkage, inductance, and torque are obtained and compared with those of its PM-less counterpart. The mathematical model of the reluctance and PM torques is presented. The reluctance and PM torques are decoupled using the finite-element analysis, and the torque contribution of the PMs is discussed. The steady-state operations of both motors with both current chopping and single-pulse controls are analyzed and compared under different speeds. Finally, both motors are manufactured, the laboratory tests are done, and the experimental results are extracted. Both the simulation and test results elucidate that the MT-HESRM, which has only three small PMs as auxiliary flux sources, has unique features in terms of high output power and torque with a negligible cogging torque.