Design of high-efficiency and high-torque-density switched reluctance motor for vehicle propulsion

A high-density and high-efficiency switched reluctance (SR) motor has been designed and built for vehicle propulsion. Extensive finite-element analyses have been carried out to optimize the geometry for high density. Steady-state performance of the drive has been simulated to ensure good efficiency at all speeds. Special attention has been given during machine design to lower the acoustic noise. Direct liquid cooling of the winding has been designed to improve the machine overload capability. Dyno test results are presented which show good overall performance of the SR drive for vehicle propulsion.