Increasing efficiency of the switched reluctance generator at low-speed operation

The paper presents a novel switching strategy to increase the efficiency of the switched reluctance generator at low speed. The asymmetric bridge converter that provides three switching states has been chosen. The proposed technique redistributes the three switching states of the converter within one working cycle. Such technique is viable when the switched reluctance generator operates below its base speed. Here, the back electromagnetic force is always lower than the DC-link voltage, hence the phase current is controlled at a desired value. The proposed control method is validated using a commercially available four phase 8/6 switched reluctance generator. A comparison between standard and new control method is illustrated. Also, the paper presents a theoretical analysis for the switching angle control method.