Comparison of Various Converter Topologies for Bipolar Switched Reluctance Motor Drives

Switched reluctance (SR) drives manifest an effective integration of electromechanical energy conversion devices and modern power electronics technology. Although SR drives can be operated using a unidirectional inverter, recent studies have shown that a bipolar excitation, in which a short flux path between two adjacent phases is maintained, can provide superior performance under multi-phase excitation scenarios. In order to provide bipolar excitation to a SRM drive, a new series of inverter topologies have been introduced. In this paper, the primary focus has been given to circuit topologies that can provide flexibility in control, versatility in operation, and survivability. A four phase, 2.1 kW, 42 V SRM has been used in this investigation