Finite-Element-Based Estimator for High-Performance Switched Reluctance Machine Drives

The majority of existing models for estimation and control of switched reluctance machines (SRMs) ignore the dynamic effects of mutual coupling between different phases. Although this may be acceptable for some common industrial applications, such a simplification may degrade significantly the performance of the drive and the precision of the estimated quantities. In this work an enhanced representation of the SRM is introduced, by defining an appropriate finite element model of the machine. This model enables accurate estimation of rotor position and electromagnetic torque, for any current configuration. The necessity as well as the feasibility of this approach is illustrated in the case of a three-phase, 6/4 SRM. Torque and position estimation accuracy provided by the proposed methodology is validated by measurements on a prototype three-phase 6/4 SRM.