Research On The Application Of Switched Reluctance Motor In Renewable Energy Systems

The SRM (Switched Reluctance Motor) is expected to be a competitive drive technology due to its robustness and cost-effectiveness, especially its low rotor losses and high torque to inertia ratio. The operation of SRM follows the "reluctance miniimum principle", i.e., the flux always passes through the path of minimum reluctance. The commutation depends on the phase excitation sequence rather than the current direction. The power converter of SRM is also simple and easy to control.This paper investigates the application of SRM in renewable energy systems and focuses on two certain areas:PV (Photovoltaic) pump and electric vehicle. The theoretical analysis, simulation and experiments are conducted based on SRM.First, a review of PV pump and electric vehicle is carried out to understand their development and latest trend. At the same time, the main research areas of SRM are analyzed to make a full description of SRM.Second, the structure, operating principle and control strategy of SRM are introduced. The APC (Angle-Position-Control) and CCC (Current-Chopping-Control) method of SRM are analyzed to regulate its torque and current. In addition, different structures of power converters are listed and compared.Third, the closed loop control system of SRM is designed. The hardware and software platform is set up and each part is introduced in detail. Experiments under different control schemes and working conditions are carried out.Based on this, the applications of SRM in PV pump and integrated on-board battery charger are realized. Different circuits and corresponding control schemes are analyzed. A PI controller is applied to realize the MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) control and CVT (Constant Voltage Tracking) control of the systems respectively. Simulation and experimental results prove that the performance of SRM in these areas is effective, which shows further potential of its application in other renewable energy areas.