Design and Performance Prediction of a Novel Linear Switched Reluctance Motor

Abstract

In this paper, a novel linear switched reluctance motor (LSRM) is introduced in which the total electromagnetic losses and dimensions are significantly reduced compared to the conventional LSRMs. The LSRM’s stator has a segmental structure, while its rotor possesses a seven pole configuration with three rotor poles equipped with the winding sets to generate the magnetic flux. The other remaining four rotor poles, i.e., auxiliary poles, are responsible for closing the magnetic flux path loop. In the proposed LSRM-auxiliary mover poles (LSRM-AMP), the flux path length is effectively reduced using the optimized provided auxiliary poles. Therefore, the required magnetomotive force (MMF) is reduced compared to the conventional LSRMs. In addition, as only half of the generated flux passes the stator segments, the dimensions of the stator segments and their corresponding weights are significantly reduced without any saturation issue. In order to verify the finite element (FE)-based performance prediction of the proposed structure, the electromagnetic operating principles and the design rules of the LSRM-AMP are separately investigated. A sensitivity analysis and comparative study for the proposed LSRM-AMP and conventional LSRM topologies are presented to show the performance and characteristics superiority of the optimized LSRM-AMP structure.