Electrical Machine and Drive

Paper Code: ARA 318T

MODULE -II: Reluctance Motor and Permanent Magnet BLDC Motor

Variable & Switched Reluctance and Brushed & Brushless DC Motor and; Tacho generator

Dr. Subhash Nimanpure,

USAR, GGSIPU, EDC, Delhi-110032
RELUCTANCE MOTOR:
A reluctance motor is a type of electric motor that induces non-permanent magnetic
poles on the ferromagnetic rotor.
The rotor does not have any windings. It generates torque through magnetic
reluctance.

There are various types of reluctance motors:

• Synchronous reluctance motor

• Variable reluctance motor (VRM)

• Switched reluctance motor (SRM))

• Variable reluctance stepping motor

As per syllabus, we will study of VRM and SRM.

Important Note: Reluctance motors can deliver very high-power density at low cost,
making them ideal for many applications. Nonetheless, at high torque ripple (the
difference between maximum and minimum torque during one revolution) when
operated at low speed, and noise due to torque ripple.
RELUCTANCE MOTOR: Contt… (Based on Construction)
Scator: • The stator of the reluctance motor is similar to that stator of the single-phase
induction motor.
• It consists of starting and running winding in the stator slots.
• This type of motor also called as split phase reluctance motor.

Rotor:
• The rotor of the reluctance motor is of salient or
projecting poles.
• Let us consider that the rotor of the squirrel
cage induction motor consists of 24 copper bars.
• If the rotor bar 5, 6, 11, 12,17,18,23 and 24 are
cut, it is similar to 4 salient poles.
RELUCTANCE MOTOR: Contt…
Principle of operation:
The stator has three phase symmetrical winding, which creates sinusoidal rotating magnetic field
in the air gap.

The reluctance torque is developed because the induced magnetic field in the rotor, has a
tendency to cause the rotor to align with the stator field at a minimum reluctance position.

Working:
• When a single-phase supply is given to the stator winding, a rotating magnetic field is
produced in the stator winding.

• When a salient poles rotor cut this magnetic field, rotor aligns in the minimum reluctance path
due to reluctance torque.

• The reluctance depends upon air gap between stator and rotor.

• Figure A shows 4 pole salient pole rotor in which direction of four high Permeance and four
low Permeance is shown.

• High Permeance means higher magnetic conductivity and higher inductance. Similarly low
Permeance means lower magnetic conductivity and lower inductance.
RELUCTANCE MOTOR: Contt…
The reluctance is inverse of Permeance. Low reluctance means higher inductance and vice versa.
L α N2 / S
Where , L = Inductance
S = Reluctance of magnetic path

Low air gap means low reluctance and vice versa

S = L / μ0μr a
Where, L = Length of air gap
μ0 = Absolute permeability = 4π × 10–7 Henry /meter
μr = Relative permeability
a = Area

• There is low reluctance path between stator and salient poles due to small air gap whereas
high reluctance path between stator and inter polar axis due to large air gap.
• The reluctance motor starts as an induction motor.
• When the rotor rotates at its maximum speed, it aligns with the stator synchronous magnetic
field due to reluctance torque.
• The angle between stator poles and rotor poles of opposite polarity is called as torque angle.
• As the torque angle increases, the reluctance torque also increases. • The maximum
reluctance torque attains at torque angle of 450.
• The load taken by the reluctance motor is only fraction of the load taken by the three-phase
inductance motor.
RELUCTANCE MOTOR: Contt…
Advantages:
• Low maintenance
• DC supply not necessary
• Simple construction
• Constant speed characteristic

Disadvantages:

• Low efficiency
• Low power factor
• Only fraction of load taken as compared to three phase induction
motor

Applications:
• Automatic regulator
• Signalling devices
• Recording instruments
• Tele printer
• Timer circuits
• Gramophone
VARIABLE RELUCTANCE MOTOR:
The topic has already covered in unit-1 including drive circuit and mode of operations.

Variable Reluctance Stepper Motor:

1. Single stack Variable Reluctance Stepper Motor
2. Multi stack Variable Reluctance Stepper Motor
SWITCHED RELUCTANCE MOTOR (SRM):
Construction:
The schematic diagram of a switched reluctance motor (SRM) is shown in below Figure. Both
stator and rotor of the motor have salient poles. Exciting coils are placed on the stator poles
wherein the diametrically opposite coils are connected in series to from a pair of poles as shown
in below Figure. Four coils are grouped to form two phases (or pair of poles) A and B. The
laminated stator poles are attached to a laminated yoke. The rotor is also laminated and made of
some magnetic material.
Operating Principle and Working:
The operating principle of a switched reluctance
motor is the same as that of a variable reluctance
motor. When stator coils are energized sequentially
with a single pulse, a reluctance torque is developed
due to the attraction between the rotor and stator
poles. To obtain continuous rotation, the position of
rotor and sensor’s timings are well synchronized
(designed). High speeds can be developed by using
high frequency pulses.
Figure: Switched reluctance motor (SRM)
Advantages:
(i) Robust construction since no winding on the rotor or slip-rings are used. (ii) Efficiency is high
(about 75%). (iii) Can be operated at high speeds (10000 to 30000 rpm). (iv) Also perform well at
higher temperatures.
SWITCHED RELUCTANCE MOTOR (SRM): Contt…
Important Notes:
• Switched reluctance motor (SRM) is similar to a variable reluctance stepper motor in closed
loop operation.

• SRM drive is better alternative to conventional DC series motor and variable speed induction
motor drives.

• The performance of SRM drives depends on control system used.

Construction point of view:

• The stator of the SRM is built by stacking suitably punched silicon laminations to the
appropriate length.

• It has salient poles and carries concentric windings.

• The rotor contains no winding or permanent magnet.

• It is built up of steel laminations.

• It is due to this mechanical simplicity that the cost of SRM is promisingly low.
SWITCHED RELUCTANCE MOTOR (SRM): Contt…
Conditions for the successful operation of SRM are:
• Number of rotor teeth and stator poles must be even and not equal.

• Stator phase is energized when the inductance of that phase is low or increasing.

• Sensor for rotor position is required. The rotor position sensing is essential for switching
operations at correct instants.

• The flux density is changing in magnitude and direction in the magnetic circuit when rotor
moves. this results in iron loss. To reduce iron loss, laminated rotor and stator structures
should be used.

Advantages of SRM:
• High efficiency.

• Good performance in terms of torque to inertia ratio.

• Maximum operating speed and simple construction.

• Available in various sizes, power and speed ranges.

PRINCIPLE OPERATION OF SRM DRIVES:
The operation principle of switched-reluctance
motor (SRM) drives can be illustrated through a
one-phase winding of a 4-phase switched-
reluctance motor having eight poles in the stator
and six poles on the rotor. Both the stator and
the rotor are of the salient-pole construction.
While the rotor has no windings, each stator
pole has a concentrated winding around it and
each pair of diametrically opposite coils
comprise one phase of the motor.

Torque produced by exciting any phase of the stator winding through unidirectional
currents results in the magnetic attraction of an adjacent rotor pole as it tends to align
into a position of minimum reluctance.

When the number of stator and rotor poles differ, the sequential switching of the
excitation from one set of stator poles to the next, in synchronism with the rotor
position, results in an almost constant torque causing uniform rotation. The
synchronization of the switching on of the excitation with rotor position can be
accomplished with simple rotor position feedback.
NATURE OF TORQUE PRODUCTION IN SRM:
Nature of Torque Production in SRM:

Neglecting the non-linearity of the magnetic circuit, the instantaneous torque developed in such
machines can be expressed as:

T = 1/2 .i2 .dL/dθ

where i is the instantaneous current in the exciting winding and L, the self inductance of that
winding varying as a function of the angular position of the rotor.

It may be noted that the torque created is independent of the direction of current flow in the
windings, so that unidirectional currents can be used permitting simplification of driving power
circuit configurations.
NATURE OF TORQUE PRODUCTION IN SRM: Contt..
The side figures show the ideal variation of the
exciting winding’s inductance with respect to
the angular position of the rotor over a periphery
of one rotor pole pitch and the corresponding
torque obtained for an assumed value of
constant current (using Eqn. above). It can be
seen that the torque can be controlled by
appropriate switching on and off of the exciting
current during the cycle of variation of
inductance.

An average motoring torque is produced by switching on current pulses in each stator phase to
coincide predominantly with the period during the inductance value is increasing. Thus, a rotor
position sensor is a must to determine the switching instants for different phases.

If the switching is delayed such that the current pulse period coincides with the period at which
the rate of change of inductance with position is negative, the torque produced will be negative
and regeneration takes place. It may be worth noting that regeneration is achieved without any
additional circuit elements. In fact, the possibility of operating in all four quadrants of the speed-
torque plane and obtaining flexible speed-torque characteristics simply by appropriate switching
of current pulses makes the motor very versatile.
MODES OF OPERATION IN SRM DRIVES:
Figure show typical phase current waveforms for the above two modes of operation.

Modes of operation of the motor having two

distinct modes operation exist, corresponding
to low or high speed. It is essential to monitor
the exciting current during low-speed operation,
since each phase period is of long duration and
the energization must be ‘chopped to restrict
each phase current within the semiconductor
ratings. Moreover, control over torque produced
is achieved by varying the mean phase current
and, hence, accurate monitoring of the current is
required to obtain the high degree of
controllability possible.

At high speeds, current control is not necessary, since inductance of the winding and the
motional counter emf induced restrict the excitation to single pulses of current. Torque control is
obtained by optimal positioning of these pulses rather than the current level. Current monitoring,
however, is retained for the sake of protection.
Switched reluctance motors (SRM) work in two modes: single-pulse and pulse-width-modulation (PWM).
In single-pulse mode, each phase’s current rises quickly, creating torque as inductance increases. Single-
pulse is used for high speed while PWM is used for low and medium speed control of SRM.
SWITCHED-RELUCTANCE MOTOR DRIVE SYSTEM:
The complete drive system comprises a switched-reluctance motor
coupled with a load, a power converter, and a control system involving a
rotor position transducer and current sensor, as depicted in below Figure.

Figure: Switched-reluctance motor drive system

SINGLE-PULSE CONTROLLED SRM DRIVE BASED ON
MULTILEVEL CONVERTER (MLC):
To obtain a fast current buildup and suitable demagnetization, an MLC with high-voltage
excitation, high-voltage demagnetization and independent control of the operation modes for
each phase is shown in given Figure. The MLC has a boost capacitor C2 and adopts one more
switch and one more diode for each phase. And UDC is the DC voltage generated by the three-
phase bridge rectifier.

Figure: The topology of the multilevel converter

IET Electric Power Appl, Volume: 16, Issue: 11, Pages: 1352-1364, First published: 12 July 2022, DOI: (10.1049/elp2.12232)
SINGLE-PULSE CONTROLLED SRM DRIVE BASED ON
MULTILEVEL CONVERTER: Contt…
The MLC not only has the functions of normal-voltage
excitation and zero-voltage freewheeling but also has
the functions of high-voltage excitation and high-
voltage demagnetization. The given below Figure
shows the four operation modes of the MLC, and phase
A is taken as an example to illustrate the operation
modes:

Mode 1: When power switch QA1 is turned off

and QA2 and QA3 are turned on, the voltage across the
phase winding is only DC-link voltage UDC. At this
time, the A-phase current excitation is similar to that of
conventional AHBC, which is called the normal
excitation mode, and the current flow path is shown in Figure: Four operation modes of the
given Figure a. multilevel converter

Mode 2: When the power switches QA1 and QA2 are turned off and QA3 is turned on, the energy
stored in the winding flows through freewheeling diodes DA3 and QA3, which is called the
freewheeling mode. At this time, the current flow path is similar to that of the conventional
AHBC, as shown in given Figure b.

IET Electric Power Appl, Volume: 16, Issue: 11, Pages: 1352-1364, First published: 12 July 2022, DOI: (10.1049/elp2.12232)
SINGLE-PULSE CONTROLLED SRM DRIVE BASED ON
MULTILEVEL CONVERTER: Contt…

Mode 3: When the power switches QA1, QA2 and QA3 are all turned on, a superposition
voltage (UDC + UC2) of two capacitors is applied to the phase winding and the boost
capacitor C2 is discharged. At this time, the excitation current of phase A can be quickly
established due to the extra voltage UC2, which is called the fast excitation mode, and
the current flow path is shown in Figure c.

Mode 4: When all three power switches QA1, QA2 and QA3 are turned off, the winding
feeds energy back to capacitors C2 and C1 via forward-biased diodes DA2 and DA3, and
the voltage across the phase winding is a high negative voltage –(UDC + UC2). At this
time, the demagnetization current of phase A can be rapidly reduced, which is called the
fast demagnetization mode, and the current flow path is shown in Figure d.
PWM CONTROLLED SRM DRIVE BASED ON MULTILEVEL
CONVERTER:
Conventional control techniques for SRM drives
include angular position control (APC), chopped
current control (CCC), and pulse-width
modulation (PWM). APC mode is only used
when SRM is operating at a high speed or above
its base speed, when conduction angle is the only
control parameter. CCC and PWM are used for
the low and medium speeds. In CCC mode,
conduction angle is usually fixed and current on
each phase of the SRM is limited in a small band.
This technique has an inherent over-current
protection feature. But it is more complex than
the PWM control. PWM control, on the other
hand, is easier to implement. Although it cannot
control the current directly, it has the advantage
that only needs one current sensor in the DC link
for the over-current protection.
Figure: Operating principle of conventional SRM drive circuit with PWM control: a) one
phase drive circuit, b) phase excitation, c) phase deflux, hard chopping, d) phase deflux using
upper switch, soft chopping, e) phase deflux using lower switch, soft chopping.
Reference: Baiming Shao and A. Emadi, "A digital PWM control for switched reluctance motor drives," 2010 IEEE
Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference, Lille, France, 2010, pp. 1-6.
PWM CONTROLLED SRM DRIVE BASED ON MULTILEVEL
CONVERTER: Contt…
Figure a shows the conventional drive circuit for one SRM phase. There are three different conduction
modes, which are called phase excitation, phase deflux (hard chopping), and phase deflux (soft chopping). In
phase excitation mode, both S1 and S2 are turned on and current is injected to the phase winding. In the phase
deflux mode, two switches could either be both turned off or keep one closed. These two modes are called
hard chopping and soft chopping, respectively. In hard chopping mode, there is a negative voltage applied to
the winding and energy stored in the phase inductance will go back to the DC link. Furthermore, the system
is noisier since there are two switches working and phase current will drop rapidly.
In soft chopping mode, zero voltage is applied to the phase winding. Energy flows inside the phase and
current drops slowly during the deflux. When DC link voltage ripple is smaller in soft chopping mode
compared with the hard chopping and it also decreases the current ripple. Thus, soft chopping is preferred
during the conducting of the phase. It should also be noted that, when a certain phase stops conducting, the
current on this phase should go to zero as quickly as possible in order to avoid the negative torque and both
switches should be turned off at that time. Below Figure shows the current and phase voltage waveforms
using the soft chopping method.

Figure: Current and phase voltage waveforms in soft chopping mode.

Reference: Baiming Shao and A. Emadi, "A digital PWM control for switched reluctance motor drives," 2010 IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion
Conference, Lille, France, 2010, pp. 1-6.
MICROPROCESSOR-BASED CONTROL OF SRM: