Modular design

Electrical engineering

Switched reluctance motor

Physics

Geology

Torque

Topology (electrical circuits)

Series and parallel circuits

Operating system

Distributed computing

Engineering

Magnet

Voltage

Rotor (electric)

Artificial intelligence

Magnetic reluctance

Seismology

Fault (geology)

Control (management)

Computer science

Process (computing)

Control theory (sociology)

Fault tolerance

Reluctance motor

Thermodynamics

IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification

This article proposes a modular seven-leg switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive with a flexible winding configuration and fault-tolerant capability. In traditional SRM drives, the winding connection is fixed, where the speed regulation range and fault-tolerant ability are both limited. To solve these issues, a modular seven-leg drive topology is proposed, where each phase winding is divided into two segments, and the winding connection can be flexibly switched to achieve a wide speed range. At low speed, the winding segments are connected in series for a higher output torque, while the parallel connection is employed at high speed to extend the speed range. In addition, a swift and smooth online winding switching process is achieved, where there are no current or speed shocks. Furthermore, owing to the flexible winding connection in the proposed topology, effective fault-tolerant strategies are developed to deal with the open-circuit faults in both series and parallel connections, which can maintain the output capability and avoid large torque ripples when open-circuit faults occur. Meanwhile, the proposed drive topology is constructed by commercial half-bridge modules and is suitable for industrial applications. Simulations and experiments are carried out on a three-phase SRM prototype to verify the feasibility of the proposed scheme.

Modular Seven-Leg Switched Reluctance Motor Drive With Flexible Winding Configuration and Fault-Tolerant Capability