A study on operation under faults with the single-phase SR generator

This paper studies the operation of a multi-pole single-phase switched reluctance generator (SRG) under faults, in particular an 8/8-pole SR machine. A new power converter topology which connects two banks of coils in parallel is proposed. The combination of multiple coils per phase and the power converter circuit suggests improved operation under faults compared with conventional topologies. Output power per coil current under faults is studied by finite-element analysis and static torque measurement. Circuit equations under faults are derived and operation under faults is evaluated by simulation. An SRG controller is constructed and experiments are performed. The experimental results support the equations and simulation results. It is concluded that the SRG can continue generating operation even when open- or short-circuited coil faults occur with the proposed power converter and proper fault detection circuits.