Characteristics Analysis and Comparison of Conventional and Segmental Rotor Type 12/8 Switched Reluctance Motors

This paper proposes a novel 12/8 switched reluctance motor (SRM) with segmental rotor for vehicle cooling fan application. Unlike conventional SRMs, the proposed motor adopts one body stator with hybrid stator poles and segmental rotor structures, thereby making the motor operate in short flux paths and parts of the flux paths magnetically isolated between the phases. Therefore, compared with conventional SRMs, the proposed structure not only improves the output torque density and reduces the magneto-motive force requirement and core losses of the motor, but also inherits the advantages of conventional SRMs like flexible control as well as the adaptability in harsh environment. To verify the proposed structure, a finite element method is employed to get characteristics of the proposed SRM. Meanwhile, a conventional 12/8 SRM, which has been used for vehicle cooling fan application, is also analyzed for comparison. Furthermore, the prototypes for the conventional and proposed 12/8 SRMs are manufactured and tested. Finally, the simulation and experimental results are presented and analyzed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed SRM.