A switched-reluctance motor/generator for mild hybrid vehicles

An optimised switched reluctance motor/generator for a mild hybrid electric vehicle is reported. The machine is designed to fit over a torque converter with no addition to the drive train length, while eliminating the starter motor, alternator and flywheel. Measured static torque shows excellent agreement with the torque calculated by finite element analysis. The initial starting torque specification of 300 Nm for given input electrical power is exceeded - 350 Nm is possible for the available 6.0 kW copper loss, representing 26.5 kNm/m
³
. The effect of a two-step air-gap is examined and found to enable a slight drop in the three-phase torque variability.