High torque polyphase segmented switched reluctance motor with novel excitation strategy

Switched reluctance motor (SRM) with simple and rugged construction is an efficient and inexpensive alternative to permanent magnet (PM) motors. However, SRM has lower torque output than a PM motor of the same frame size. An SRM design that improves torque output by using segmented rotor topology with five phases is designed and evaluated in this study. Further, a bipolar excitation strategy wherein two phases are concurrently excited is proposed. A conventional full bridge inverter is used to feed the motor. Prototype of this machine is fabricated for experimental validation of the proposed strategy. It is found that bipolar excitation strategy results in higher torque output.