Switched Reluctance Motor Converters for Electric Vehicles Applications: Comparative Review
Mahmoud A. Gaafar, Arwa Abdelmaksoud, Mohamed Orabi, Hao Chen, Mostafa Dardeer
Abstract
Through comprehensive study for the power converters that have emerged previously for switched reluctance machine (SRM) drive system, this paper proposes an evaluation approach to determine the suitability of these converters for using in SRM-based electric vehicle (EV) drive system. This evaluation reflects the relative differences of these converters in terms of their cost as well as their capability to offer best technical performance for the drive system of EVs. From technical viewpoint, four factors are considered as follow: the converter efficiency, the converter reliability, the capability of the converter to reduce torque ripple, and to increase power productivity. A benchmark consists of number of converter characteristics is identified. The operation of the converters is analyzed to determine, in quantitative way, their fulfillments to these characteristics. Expressions for the evaluation factors are proposed in terms of the converters’ characteristics. Accordingly, the converters are relatively scored to reflect their differences in cost as well as in technical impact on the SRM drive system. The results provide useful indication for trade-off between gaining some of advantages and losing others for EV applications. In addition, they identify of potentials for optimization based on the cost and the technical performance of different SRM converters.