Analysis of electromagnetic field in a switched reluctance machine from an energy conversion perspective

With the recent advancement in power electronics and digital signal processors, switched reluctance machine (SRM) attracts more attention in high speed and harsh environment applications due to its rugged and robust structure. Despite considerable progress in the development of power electronics based control of the SRM, relatively small changes in the magnetic design has been observed. A physically insightful analysis of the electromechanical energy conversion process, origins and spatial distribution of electromagnetic field quantities at a microscopic level can shed light on the process of SRM design, which in turn could create new opportunities for substantial improvement of SRM performance such as energy conversion efficiency, torque production, iron loss reduction and acoustic noise mitigation. This thesis introduces various electromagnetic force calculation methods and validates each method with a linear motion actuator model. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...