Analysis and design of a cost effective converter for switched reluctance motor drives using component sharing

In this paper, a new and cost effective converter, consisting of “half-bridge” IGBT modules and SCRs, for switched reluctance motor drives is proposed. The new method allows the sharing of the IGBT bridge to the switched reluctance motors winding, thus it significantly reduce by half of the component cost. The proposed converter topology is a variation of the conventional asymmetric bridge converter for switched reluctance motor drives. However, utilization of switch modules is enhanced considerably. The requirements of switched reluctance motor drives on converters and the operation of the proposed converter are analyzed and discussed. Furthermore, the simulation and experimental results confirm the feasibility of the proposed converter.