Four-Quadrant Control of a Switched Reluctance Motor for a
Highly Dynamic Actuator Load
Syed Hossain Iqbal Husain Harald Klode
Department of Electrical Engineering Delphi E&C Systems
The University of Akron Dayton Technical Center
Akron, OH 44325-3904 Dayton, OH 45408
USA
Abstract- A four-quadrant controller for Switched Reluctance
Motor (SRM) drives with optimal turn-on and turn-off angles
for each operating quadrant is presented in this paper. The
firing angles are chosen to maximize the average torque
produced by the motor, which requires the optimization of the
area of the energy conversion loop. The four-quadrant SR
controller developed with the chosen optimization criterion gives
fast motoring response as well as fast braking response. The
underlying contribution of this paper is the development and
solution of an optimal control problem to provide the best
control strategies. The paper also provides the specific guideline
to switch the firing angle position when the motor operation
changes from one quadrant to another. The developed four-
quadrant controller has been applied to control the linear
displacement of a highly dynamic actuator load.
I. INTRODUCTION
Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) have advantages in
terms of large peak-torque capability on an intermittent basis
and wide speed range, which are particularly suitable for
electromechanical actuators and traction type loads. For
actuators, transient response is highly critical, whereas for
traction rapid emergency stops are essential. Energy
regeneration helps in achieving quick response and smooth
stops and the energy is efficiently utilized instead of being
wasted. In the end, operation at full torque and speed levels
is necessary in all four quadrants to get the fast response
characteristics.
Power
Supply Position Position Command
SR
Motor and
Control
Controller
Position
Gear Sensor
Piston
Ballscrew Hydraulic
Load
Piston Returning
Spring
Fig. 1 A hydraulic drive system.
0-7803-7404-5/02/$17.00 (c) 2002 IEEE
Bruno Lequesne Avoki Omekanda
Delphi Research Labs
Delphi Automotive Systems
Shelby Twp, MI 48315
USA USA
The use of switched reluctance motors for actuators and
motion control applications was assessed and tested in [1].
The capability of SR motor for electric vehicles and hybrid
electric vehicles was investigated in [2]. A nonlinear
controller for high performance speed regulation control of
the SRM for direct drive servo applications was proposed in
[3]. Unfortunately, these studies focused exclusively on 1st
quadrant operation. The strategies provided are not sufficient
for highly dynamic actuators requiring quick motion reversal.
Successful motor operation for a highly dynamic load, as
shown in Fig. 1, demands four-quadrant operation of SRM
with appropriate turn-on and turn-off angles. To achieve fast
motion reversals, maximum torque in the second quadrant is
essential. This paper shows how to select firing angles for
the motoring and regenerating modes of operation, which is
required in many actuator type applications. In these
applications, the sudden command changes translate to
maximizing the motor torque either for accelerated forward
or reverse motion, or for fast motion-direction reversal.
Therefore, the firing angles are chosen to maximize the
average torque. Depending on the control command, the
motor is switched to operate between the motoring and
braking regions by choosing the appropriate turn-on and turn-
off angles.
II. OPTIMAL TURN ON AND TURN OFF ANGLES
The average torque, Tav produced by an SR motor is [4]
qN rW
Tav =
2π
where q = number of phases, Nr = number of rotor poles and
W = energy conversion per working stroke. Figs. 2(a) and
2(b) represent the energy conversion loops for an SRM for
motoring and regenerating modes of operation, respectively
(note the arrow directions). The figures show the
magnetization curves for the aligned and unaligned positions
along with the one for a given commutation angle θoff in the
motoring mode. The primary objective is to maximize the
41
 θa
Aligned

Flux linkage, ψ
C θoff
Flux linkage, ψ

R
R
R
R
W θoff
W
W
θu θu
Unaligned
O Phase current, iph
O Phase current iph
(b) Regenerating Operation
(a) Motoring operation
Fig. 2 Energy conversion loops in the current-controlled mode.

average torque, which requires maximization of the energy
conversion loop per stroke W. The control parameters of the
optimization problem are turn-on angle, turn-off angle and
reference current (θon ,θoff, Iref). For the actuator system
operated in the position-controlled mode where fast response
time is critical, it is advantageous to maintain a reference
current at the peak rated value to obtain a high average
torque. The control parameters then reduce to θon and θoff,
while the phase current is limited to the peak rated value of
the motor. The problem can now be defined as
max
θ on ,θ off
W = max
θ on ,θ off
{ ∫ i(ψ ,θ )dψ }.
optimal drive performance over a wide speed range. This
section presents an outline of the method that optimizes the
control parameters through off-line simulation. A geometry
based nonlinear analytical model is used to simulate the
physical motor [5-6] in order to incorporate the significant
nonlinearities of the system. The optimized values of the
control parameters are then expressed as a function of speed.
Neglecting the core loss of the motor, the cost function
(which is the work done per stroke) is calculated from the
phase voltage and phase current as
J = ∑ (v
per stroke
ph − i ph r ph ) * i ph * ∆ t ,

The cost function J of the optimization problem is the where ∆ t = simulation time step .
work done per stroke. The energy conversion loop can be A univariate search technique has been used to reduce the
divided into two parts at the transition point (θoff) total amount of computation. The guiding logic behind
corresponding to fluxing and defluxing the machine univariate search is to change one variable at a time so that
respectively. Therefore, the cost function can be expressed as the function is maximized in each of the co-ordinate
ψ off directions. The optimization algorithm is described in the
Cost function, J = ∫ 0
i(ψ fluxing , θ )dψ
following:
0 1. Start at some arbitrary starting point x0 (θon ,θoff) within
+∫ i (ψ defluxing , θ )dψ .
ψ off the feasible space of solutions.
The optimization problem can be solved by defining the 2. Find the next point x1 by performing the maximization
following necessary conditions with respect to the variable θoff, i.e.,
dJ (θ on , θ off ) dJ (θ on , θ off ) x1 = x0 + λ1e1
=0 ; =0 .
dθ on dθ off where e1=[0 1]. λ1 is scalar such that f(x0+λ1e1) is
An analytical solution of the necessary conditions is only maximized. In other words, we solve the problem
possible if the energy conversion loop can be defined by a min f ( x 0 + λ1e1 ). This θoff is the local
λ1
smooth function of the control parameters. The challenge in
the case of SR machines is its highly nonlinear optimization of the cost function.
electromagnetic characteristics. The approach presented in 3. Find the point x2 by performing maximization with
the paper is based on numerical optimization techniques that respect to the variable θon where the locally optimized
can accommodate models containing significant θoff is used, i.e.,
nonlinearities. x2 = x1 + λ2e2 , e2 = [1 0]
such that f(x1+λ2e2) is maximized. This θon is the locally
A. Optimization Approach optimized turn-on angle.
The control parameters are precalculated through the 4. Continue successive iteration of steps 2 and 3 until the
optimization algorithm to maximize the energy conversion quantities |λk| are less than some tolerance value. These
per stroke at different operating points in order to achieve an iterations give the globally optimized turn-on and turn-
off angles.

42
B. Results of Optimization Problem III. FOUR-QUADRANT CONTROL STRATEGIES
The method outlined above was implemented in
MATLAB/SIMULINK using a four-phase, 8/6 SRM as the In many applications, the SRM operates in the torque-
reference motor. The motor parameters and ratings are given controlled mode with the command torque set by an outer-
in the Appendix-I. The influence of the turn-on angle and loop position controller. The SR drive controller in the inner-
turn-off angles on energy conversion per stroke in the loop functions to maintain the desired command torque. Fast
motoring mode at different speeds are shown in Fig. 3(a) and response is critical for highly dynamic loads, where the
3(b). Turn-on angle is kept constant in Fig. 3(a), while turn- command torque and the motor speed may reverse quickly
off angle is kept constant in Fig. 3(b). Observing the two from positive to negative and vice versa. The motor operates
figures, it is obvious that the energy conversion is increasing in all four quadrants of its torque-speed characteristic. The
by advancing the turn-on and turn-off angles at high speed. flow diagram of the controller is shown in Fig. 4. The
Also, energy is optimized along two lines, one for turn-on controller switches the motor between the motoring and
angle and one for turn-off angle, denoted by “optimal line” in braking regions according to the control command. The
the figures. The optimal lines for the motoring mode can be appropriate and different turn-on and turn-off angles are used
represented by the following general equations: depending on the operating quadrant.
Optimal turn − on angle = a11 + a12 * ω + a13 *ω 2 θ
Commutation
Scheduler Turn-on and Turn- θon
Optimal turn − off angle = a 21 + a 22 * ω + a 23 *ω 2 . ω
off angle Calculator
θoff
Similar analysis for the regenerating mode shows that
Operating Quadrant
Determination
Optimal turn − on angle = a31 + a32 * ω + a33 *ω 2
Optimal turn − off angle = a 41 + a 42 * ω + a 43 *ω 2 . Tref or ωref
Torque (or Speed
Iref On –off
Hysteresis Signals
Error) to Current
The coefficient a’s are determined through the optimization ω Transformation
Controller
iph for Main Phase
program. The results found for a 4-phase, 8/6 SRM are given (if speed loop)
in Appendix-II.
Fig. 4 Schematic representation of the controller.

The turn-on and turn-off angles determined in section II

1.2 are used for first and fourth quadrant operation. These angles
1.0 Optimal line are scheduled as a smooth function of speed, which
maximizes the average torque at all operating points.
0.8
Operation in second and third quadrants is the mirror
Energy (Joules)

0.6 symmetry of that of the fourth and first quadrants, as shown

in Fig. 5. The relationships between the firing angles are
0.4

2π 2π
0.2
θ on , III = − − θ on , I ; θ off , III = − − θ off , I
0
-2 600
400 Nr Nr
-4 -6 800
θ on , II = − θ on , IV ; θ off , II = − θ off , IV
-8 -10 1000
Speed (rad/sec)
Turn off angle

(a)

1.2
Optimal line ωref
1.0 ib Tref im
Energy (Joules)

0.8
θon II -2π/Nr
00
0.6 Lph
θoff, II
θoff, I
0.4 π/Nr
-π/Nr
θon, I
0.2
-ω II I ω
0 III IV
400
im ib
600
Speed
(rad/sec)
800
-32 0 θon, IV
1000 -39 -38 -37 -36 -35 -34 -33 -2π/Nr
θoff, IV
Turn on angle θoff, III
(b )
π/Nr
θon III -ωref
-π/Nr

Fig 3 Energy vs. speed with (a) turn-off angle and -Tref
(b) turn-on angle variations.
Fig. 5 Operating points in different quadrants.

43
 The four-quadrant drive may be required to operate either software package. A cascade control structure is used for the
in the position-controlled loop or in the speed-controlled drive system. The controller has two parts: outer loop
loop. In the controller, the operating quadrant is determined controller and inner loop controller. The outer loop generates
from the sign of reference torque (or reference speed for the reference torque or reference speed from the position or
speed-controlled drive) and motor speed as shown in Fig. 4. speed error. The SRM drive system is in the inner loop. The
geometry based analytical model having the significant non-
IV. SIMULATION RESULTS linear saturation characteristics of an SRM has been used to
The simulation of the mechanical subsystem as well as of represent the physical motor in the simulation set-up. The
the optimization method for four-quadrant controller of the simulation set-up incorporated the practical nonidealities,
SR drive was implemented in the MATLAB/SIMULINK such as controller delay time, position sensor resolution and
errors in current measurements. These measures in simulation
provided results that closely matched the experimental
0.5 (a) Position vs. Time
results.
0.4
The simulation results of the closed-loop position-
Position Command controlled system using the proposed controller is shown in
Position Output
Position (mm)

0.3 Fig. 6. In this simulation, the inner torque loop is followed by

the outer position loop. The reference torque generated from
0.2
the outer position loop is the command input for the SR drive.
0.1
Figs. 6(b) and 6(c) show the speed response and reference
torque respectively under load torque disturbances. The
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
torque-speed profile of Fig. 6(d) shows that operation at full
Time (sec) torque and speed levels is necessary in all four quadrants.
6000 (b) Speed vs. Time Extensive simulation studies did prove that the optimal turn-
5000 on and turn-off angles do indeed provide the fastest response
4000 of the actuator system.
3000
Speed (rpm)

2000
V. VALIDATION AND TEST
1000

0 The prototype set-up to verify the four-quadrant control

-1000 strategy with optimal control parameters experimentally is
-2000 shown in Fig. 7. The test set-up was designed for motion
-3000
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 control applications that can be operated in variable speed-
Time (sec)
controlled or position-controlled loop. The controller
(c) Torque Command vs. Time
2
algorithm has been implemented within a dSPACE rapid
1.5 prototyping platform. The classic bridge power converter was
Torque Command (N.m)

1 used to meet the commutation requirements. Four A/D

0.5 channels having sampling time of 4 µsec are used to digitize
0 the phase current information for the dSPACE controller. The
-0.5
current control is implemented inside the dSPACE system to
-1
avoid the necessity of any additional hardware. The position
information is obtained from an incremental encoder.
-1.5

-2 Rotor Position
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
Time (sec)
(d) Profile of Motor Torque vs. Speed dSPACE iph
2
with Converter
1.5 Hydraulic
Interface SRM Load
Motor Torque (N.m)

1 Hardware
0.5
Gate
Signals
0

-0.5 Vdc
-1
Fig 7 Hardware set-up for SRM drive system.
-1.5

-2
-6000 -4000 -2000 0 2000 4000 6000 A. Speed-Controlled Loop
Speed (rpm)
The SRM was first connected to an inertia load to verify
Fig. 6 Simulation results in the position-controlled mode. the variable speed operation. A rectangular bi-directional

44
speed command is used for four-quadrant speed control. A In the speed-controlled mode, the current is regulated in
fixed set of turn-on and turn-off angles are used in the the active phase by chopping at the reference level
motoring region. To achieve quick reversal, the optimized commanded by the speed regulator. Phase conduction angle
operating angles are used in the regenerating mode. A PI- control becomes necessary for speed commands above the
regulator is used to generate the current command from the base speed, since the motor enters the single pulse mode.
speed error. The closed-loop response for a toggling speed Fig. 9(a) shows the measured phase currents during
command between 1000 and –1000 rpm is shown in Fig. 8. motor acceleration. Fig. 9(b) shows the measured phase-A
The motor was thus required to switch operation from current along with the wrapped rotor position during the
deceleration mode. The figure also shows the correct
Speed Speed positioning of the phase current with respect to the rotor
measured command
1000 position in the regeneration mode. The optimized turn-on and
turn-off angles produce a small amount of opposite polarity
Speed (rpm)

torque. The opposite polarity torque produced by the rising or

0 decaying phase current may appear to be undesirable, since it
will adversely affect the machine efficiency and torque
ripple. However, the small opposite polarity torque helps to
-1000 maximize the average torque in each phase cycle of
operation, which is required for fast actuation.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 During regeneration, the kinetic energy of the motor and
Time (sec) load is converted into electrical energy. Therefore, the
Fig. 8 Measured four quadrant closed loop speed response. capacitor voltage rise due to regeneration must be considered
during the converter design. Fig. 10 shows the significant
forward motoring (first quadrant operation) to reverse increase in the dc link bus voltage from the nominal value
motoring (third quadrant operation) through regenerating during regeneration.
mode (fourth quadrant operation), and also from reverse
motoring to forward motoring through regenerating mode
(second quadrant operation). 30

20
20
Phase -A voltage

P h-A Ph -B Ph -C P h -D Ph -A 10
Phase Currents (Amps)

16
0

- 10
12

- 20

8
- 30

4 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8

Time (sec)
0 Fig. 10 Measured DC bus voltage for four-quadrant operation.
2 4 6 8
Time (sec)
(a) B. Position-Controlled Loop
In this test, the SRM was driving a linear load via a
Wrapped Rotor Position (Mech. Degree)

25 150
ballscrew arrangement as shown in Fig. 1. Any position
20 change of the motor is converted into force on the piston that
Phase-A Current (Amps)

120
P h ase-A C u rrent
has a restoring spring. The experimental results of the closed-
15 90
loop position-controlled system are shown in Fig. 11. The
10 60 rotor position information is used to measure the translational
displacement of the piston. Figs. 11(a) and 11(b) show the
5 30
linear displacement and speed responses, respectively, under
0
W r ap p ed ro tor p o sitio n
0
load torque disturbances. These figures represent four-
quadrant response of the SRM for the linear displacement
A lig ned position A ligned position U n a lig ned p o sitio n
-5 -3 0
control of the actuator system. Smooth transition is observed
0 .0 36
0 .0 3 3 0 .0 34 0 .0 3 5
Time (sec)
0 .0 37 0 .0 3 8 0 .0 3 9
when the motor switches from one operating quadrant to
(b) another.
Table 1 shows the effect of the variations of turn-on and
Fig 9 Measured phase currents during (a) acceleration
and (b) deceleration.
turn-off angles on response time. The response time (rise
time) is considered as the time required for translational

45
 (a): Linear Displacement vs. Time
0 .8

20
0 .7
Position Command Ph-B Ph -C Ph -B Ph -C
Linear Displacement (mm)

0 .6

Phase Currents (Amps)

16
Position Output
0 .5

0 .4 12

0 .3

8
0 .2

0 .1
4

0
2 2 .5 3 3 .5 4 4 .5
Time (sec) 250 254 258 260

(b) Motor Speed vs. Time Time (sec)

6000
Fig 12 Measured phase currents during position hold.
4000
Motor Speed (rpm)

2000
0
-2 0 0 0
-4 0 0 0
-6 0 0 0
2 .0 2 .5 3 .0
Time (sec)
Fig 11 Measured position and speed response in the
position controlled mode of operation.
movement of 20% (0.14mm) to 80% (0.55mm) of the
position command. The hydraulic drive system was operated
in the test bench by varying the turn-on and turn-off angle
one-mechanical degree around the optimal angles. The test
results verify that the optimal turn-on and turn-off angles give
the fastest response.
Table 1 Response time comparison for deviation from optimal angles
Operating parameters
Optimal turn on and turn off angles
Optimal turn on plus 10 and optimal turn off
Optimal turn on minus 10 and optimal turn off
Optimal turn on and optimal turn off plus 10
Optimal turn on and optimal turn off minus 10
When the position is held at a constant level as seen in
Fig. 11, the rotor dithers around zero speed. The effect of this
dithering is a small rotor movement of the order of one step
angle around the position hold. Therefore, the motor goes
through more than one phase during position hold. The
dithering around zero speed has been incorporated in the
controller to minimize the local overheating of any single
phase. Fig. 12 shows the phase currents during position hold.
Here the rotor oscillates between phase B and phase C to
maintain the constant position. Energizing these two adjacent
phases would thus distribute the power loss.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
This paper demonstrated the necessity of a four-quadrant
controller and appropriate turn-on and turn-off angles for any
highly dynamic actuator load. The response time for the
actuator system has been minimized by choosing optimal
firing angles based on average torque maximization for the
motoring and braking or regeneration modes. Any small
3 .5 4 .0 4 .5 variation of the turn-on and turn-off from the optimal values
has an adverse effect of the response time.
A guideline is presented to switch the firing angle
position when the motor operation changes from one
quadrant to another. The experimental results show very fast
dynamic responses for linear displacement control using the
proposed controller with smooth transition from one quadrant
to another.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was performed under a contract between
Delphi Automotive Systems and the University of Akron.
The authors are grateful for Delphi's support in this regard.
Rise time (msec)
48 REFERENCES
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46
 Appendix-I

SRM Ratings and Parameters:

Inverter DC bus voltage 20V
Power 300W
Peak current 15A
No. of stator poles 8; 220 pole arc
No. of rotor poles 6; 220 pole arc
Stator winding resistance 0.179Ω

Appendix-II

Optimal Controller Parameters:

The coefficients a’s were determined for a 4-phase, 8/6 SR
motor. The results were: a11= -34.32; a12= 0.0018; a13= -
6.05e-6; a21= -4.29; a22= -0.0021; a23= -2.253e-6; a31= -7.07;
a32= 0.0014; a33= -6.1e-6; a41= 26.16; a42= -0.0005; a43= -
4.06e-6; where, 0 and –600 are aligned positions, and ±300 are
unaligned positions.

47