Modeling and experimental characterization of SRMs for simultaneous two phase excitation

Dynamic modeling of switched reluctance motors (SRMs) is usually done on a per phase basis. However, in most applications, SRMs are used with simultaneous excitation of more than one phase. Thus, a model accounting for mutual coupling in the presence of magnetic saturation is needed to predict and optimize their performance in terms of efficiency and torque ripple. This paper presents a two phase excitation model of the SRM. Motor symmetry is used to reduce the amount of flux linkage data needed for the model. An experimental procedure to obtain the flux linkage data is described. Measured flux linkage data for the 8/6 SRM are included. Simulation results obtained from the two phase model implemented in Simulink are presented along with their implications for steady state performance.