The Switched Reluctance Motor

2012 Dr. B. C. Paul

Note Concepts presented here in are considered common knowledge in the field and are
found in numerous texts no one of which was intentionally copied. Figures are from various
sources including computer simulation technology, Texas A+M University, Electric Motorbike
Inc, Hearst Electric Products. List may not exhaustively site all locations where similar figures
may be found.

The Switched Reluctance Motor

The Stator contains
3 electro-magnets
powered by DC
Current.

The Rotor is a Plain Piece of Steel

capable of carrying a magnetic flux
The rotor is connected
To a shaft that is it
hoped will turn to
make something
happen.

The Path of Least Resistance

Water will follow the path of least resistance
Electricity will follow a path of least resistance

Magnetic Reluctance
Magnetic flux likes to find an easy flow path
A nice piece of steel is a much better flow path than air
The magnetic flux will try to get the steel path to line up (considered
magnetic reluctance)

Making the Motor Work

If I keep turning magnetic fields off
And on around the stator I can
Have the rotor continuous chasing
The magnetic field and thus
Turning the shaft
I now have a DC motor with no
Rings or brushes. (But one wholly
Heck of a lot of switches)

Problems
The torque the motor produces is proportional to
where the rotor is relative to the poles
The effect is highly non-linear

As the rotor chases the poles the poles the

torque ripples up and down

Try This

A bunch of extra poles and then let a project logic controller program do the field
Switching to smooth out the torque.

Of Course
We have just created a motor that depends on a
bunch of solid state switching technology and a
computer to be able to operate
That would have been a big deal in 1912, but not
2012.
Its still a big deal if Im talking hp motors, but if I
need a big torqueing motor a computer controlled
motor is another story.