Advantages of switched reluctance motor applications to EV and HEV: design and control issues

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the capabilities of switched reluctance motors (SRMs) for EV and HEV applications. This investigation is carried out in two steps. The first step involves the machine design and the finite element analysis to obtain the static characteristic of the motor. In the second step, the finite element field solutions are used in the development of a nonlinear model to investigate the dynamic performance of the designed motor. Several 8-6 and 6-4 SRM geometries are investigated. The effects of different stator and rotor pole widths and pole heights on the steady state as well as on the dynamic performance of the motor are studied. Simulation results of the designed SRM are presented for vehicle acceleration. To demonstrate the SRM´s capability in producing an extended constant power range, experimental results are presented; however, for a reduced size motor available commercially.