Modular Tri-Port Converter for Switched Reluctance Motor based Hybrid Electrical Vehicles

Hybrid electrical vehicle (HEV) is a popular transport solution to reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) are one of the most promising motors for such applications. In SRM-based series-type HEV, there are three energy components, i.e., generator, battery bank, and SRM. A tri-port converter is needed to combine the three energy components in one power converter. The tri-port converter has a modular and concise structure, which meets the requirements for HEV applications. The proposed tri-port converter supports five working modes, including generator to SRM, battery bank to SRM, generator and battery bank to SRM, generator to SRM and battery bank, and battery bank to SRM and generator under driving conditions; under standstill conditions, generator to battery bank and battery bank to generator energy flow can also be realized without requiring extra converters. The corresponding control strategies are also developed to cooperate with different working modes. Moreover, the fault tolerance characteristics of the tri-port converter are investigated to expand its feasibility under harsh HEV application conditions. The simulation and experiments are undertaken with a 750W prototype to evaluate the performance of the proposed tri-port converter for HEV applications.