Design and analysis of a pancake switched reluctance machine for use in household applications

The design process of a switched reluctance drive for household applications is described. The machine requirements for modern household applications are summarized and the design process of a 150 W three-phase switched reluctance drive is described. During the process special attention was paid to the stator's mechanical resonance frequencies to assess influences of the acoustic noise. Also drive efficiency was optimized by shaping the current waveforms for the most occurring operating point. Due to application requirements, the designed machine has a very short stack length, which also leads to a considerable influence of end-effects on the machine inductance. Two-dimensional (2D) and 3D FEM simulation results are presented to show this influence. Furthermore, the influence of different control strategies on the machine vibration is reviewed. Finally, the acoustic performance of the switched reluctance drive was measured on an eddy current brake test bench and in the application itself. The results of these measurements are shown and analyzed.