A Simple Reluctance Calibration Strategy to Obtain the Flux-linkage Characteristics of Switched Reluctance Machines

To predict the dynamic performance or realize advanced control for switched reluctance machines (SRMs), knowledge of the flux-linkage characteristics is essential. These characteristics can be determined by a magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC), a finite-element method (FEM), or measurements. The MEC and FEM results are usually not accurate, while results from measurements are accurate, but very expensive and time-consuming. In this paper, a new calibration strategy is proposed to quickly obtain flux-linkage characteristics with low effort. First, flux-linkage samples at aligned and unaligned positions are obtained from fast measurement. Then, a reluctance calibration strategy is utilized to calibrate the airgap and iron reluctance parameters with measurement values. The calibration results are compared with complete measurement results, and good agreements can be found, which verifies the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed strategy. Furthermore, a simulation model is built in MATLAB with the calibration results, and dynamic performances at different speeds and control strategies are simulated and compared with experiments for further validation. In addition, the applicability of the proposed method to the variation of some parameters, such as material, airgap, and winding placement, and different topologies is discussed as well. The presented strategy can serve as a low-effort way to obtain accurate flux-linkage characteristics of SRMs.