Switched reluctance generator controls for optimal power generation and battery charging

This paper presents a control strategy for varying the turn-on and turn-off angles of three-phase switched reluctance generators (SRGs) to maximize the efficiency as well as to reduce the dc-link ripple current resulting from the commutation of phase currents at high speeds. The behavior of the commutation angles is analyzed first through offline measurements of the dc-link current and voltage, the generator speed, and the phase currents. The analysis of the collected data has shown that the commutation angles providing the minimum ripple on the dc-link current achieve the maximum generating efficiencies. A novel control technique, developed based on the finding, achieves the desired generating set point with maximum efficiency and minimum ripple on the charging current. The control algorithm actively searches the turn-off angles to reduce the normalized DC-link current ripple, which also ensures the generation with the maximum efficiency. The turn-on angle is controlled through a proportional-integral (PI) controller to generate the desired power level. The algorithm is implemented successfully on a 1kW three-phase SRG charging a NiMH battery-pack.