Improvement in the field-weakening performance of switched reluctance machine with continuous mode

A new operation mode for switched reluctance motors (SRMs), called ‘continuous mode’, is described. By using this mode, the torque and then power in field-weakening mode can be considerably increased without any hardware modifications. Consequently, power and torque densities of SRMs become comparable to other technologies (synchronous and induction motors) and with a field weakening operation over a large speed range. This new degree of freedom makes it possible to improve the motor design, by modifying the rotor pole arc size or the windings turns per pole. Only simulation results are presented here, for a 12/8 SRM. Results confirm that the maximum power is improved (constant power on a very large speed range) and with a higher efficiency than that in the classical discontinuous mode.