456 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 24, NO.
3 , MAYIJUNE 1988
Design Procedure for Switched-Reluctance Motors
Abstract-Switched-reluctance motors have gained attention in the
variable-speed drive market. The savings in manufacturing cost of the
motor due to its simplicity of construction and use of minimum number
of switching devices in the drive circuit are two important factors in its
favor compared to any other motor drive, The presented concern is with
some of the design aspects of the switched-reluctance motor for nonservo
applications. Towards this objective, a step-by-step procedure is devel-
oped for the design of switched-reluctance motors.
I. INTRODUCTION
S WITCHED-reluctance motors have been developed for
electric propulsion, fan, pump, and even servo
applications. They have simple constructional features of
concentrated windings but with no windings on the rotor itself
[l], [2]. They have some of the operational features of a
synchronous motor and lend themselves to programming of
their torque and speed profiles. Due to the unidirectional
current requirement in the switched-reluctance motor, its
converter has a minimum number of switching devices
compared to a conventional inverter-fed synchronous or
induction motor drive.
In spite of its growing popularity, very few papers have
dealt with the design aspects of the motor itself [2]-[4]. While
a finite-element analysis has brought to light the complexity of
the machine [5], it has not given way to a simple design
procedure that could be used with minimum computational
effort.
The present paper attempts to fill the void in the design
procedure for the switched-reluctance motor. The output
equation is developed in a manner very similar to that used for
conventional rotating machines, thereby bringing the design
engineer's experience to bear on this new machine. The major
dimensions are worked out using the output equation. While
existing procedures are used for the computation of induc-
tances, the sensitivity of their prediction on the performance
calculation is given. A criterion to find the upper limit of the
stator excitation is introduced relating the incremental ratio of
mechanical energy and stator current.
This paper is organized on the following lines: Section I1
contains the derivation of the output equation for the switched-
Paper IPCSD 87-36, approved by the Electric Machines Committee of the
IEEE Industry Applications Society for presentation at the 1986 Industry
Applications Society Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, September 28-October 3.
Manuscript released for publication August 25, 1987.
R. Krishnan is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061.
R. Arumugan and J. F. Lindsay are with the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Boulevard West,
Montreal, PQ, Canada H3G 1M8.
IEEE Log Number 8719044.
.OO @ 1988 IEEE
OO93-9994/88/05oO-O456$01
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reluctance motor. Selection of major dimensions, number of
turns, and thermal considerations are discussed in Section III.
A verification Of the design based On the computed flux
linkages versus current characteristics is given in Section IV.
Operational limits based on the incremental gain criterion are
derived in Section V. Section VI contains the conclusion.
11. OUTPUT
EQUATION
The output equation relates the bore diameter, length,
speed, and magnetic and electric loading to the output of a
machine. In general, the conventional machines are designed
starting from the output equation. A similar development of
the output equation for the switched-reluctance motor will
make its design systematic. Moreover, the experience of the
machine designers can be effectively used in the design of
these new machines, as they could use the commonality
between these and the conventional machines to start with at
least. While the output equation of the switched-reluctance
motor will be significantly different from that of the conven-
tional machine, the emphasis here is placed on their similari-
ties.
Fig. 1 shows a schematic of a switched-reluctance motor
with six stator poles and four rotor poles. Fig. 2 shows the flux
linkages versus current characteristics of the switched-reluc-
tance motor for the unaligned and perfectly aligned position of
the stator and rotor poles. Unaligned position of the stator and
rotor poles means that the center of the stator pole is in
between the two rotor poles. The area enclosed by 0, A, B, C,
0 denotes the output mechanical energy of the motor for one
stroke. Using equations developed in [4], the voltsecond
relationship for a flat-topped phase current i is
{L;-L,}i= vt (1)
where
L: aligned saturated inductance per phase,
L, unaligned inductance per phase,
V applied voltage,
t time taken for the rotor to move from the unaligned to
aligned position.
Also
where
P, stator pole arc, rad.
Wm rotor speed, rad/s.
T-
 KRISHNAN et al. : DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR SWITCHED-RELUCTANCE MOTORS 457

Fig. 1 . Schematic of switched-reluctance motor

Writing the flux linkages in the aligned position as

where

A$ * L * PJ2.0; area of the stator pole, (7)

D bore diameter,
L axial length of the stator pole,
A
B flux density at the aligned position,
Tph number of turns per phase.
The stator current may be obtained from the specific electric
loading A,, which is defined as
is

S t a t o r current, H
2 Tphim
A, = ~

TD
Fig. 2. Flux linkages versus stator current for switched-reluctance motor.
where m is the number of phases that conduct simultaneously.
Defining In the case of a 614 motor, such as the example being
considered, only one phase conducts at a time. The power
Ls, developed is
(J=-
(3)
L:: Pd = kekd vim (9)
A" = L y L , (4) where V and i are peak phase values, kd is the duty cycle
and substituting (3) and (4) in (l), defined in (lo), and ke is the efficiency. The duty cycle can be
expressed as

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 45 8
where
8; current conduction angle for each rising inductance
profile,
q number of phases = Ps/2,
P, number of rotor poles.
Combining (5) and (6)
Pd=ke * kd ( & ) ( l - - & ) BAspDzLN,
where N, is the rotor speed in r/min.
Equation (11) can be rearranged to resemble that of the
conventional output equation of ac machines and is given by
where
R2
kl=-
120
1 obtained. The airgap is determined by the machining tolerance
k2= 1 --
ah4
The torque can be expressed as
T= kd ke * k3 * k2 * ( B ASP)* D 2 L
where
lr
k3=4*
Note that the torque and power output are proportional to the
product of specific electric magnetic loadings and bore
volume. k2 is the only variable dependent on the operating
point of the motor and is determined by the stator phase cur-
rent, magnetic characteristics of the core materials, and
dimensions of the motor. For a given operating point, k2 is a
constant. Hence to access the maximum output power of the
switched reluctance motor, k2 needs to be calculated at the
maximum stator current. For that matter, the flux linkages
versus current for the aligned and unaligned positions are to be
estimated for various values of stator currents. For kd equal to
one, the power developed is maximum for a given stator
current. It is usual to find that the maximum possible duty
cycle is less than one. Furthermore, torque and power control
are exercised by the variation of duty cycle similar to a
chopper-controlled dc motor. The speed is controlled by the
frequency of switching of the phases resembling that of a
synchronous motor.
OF DIMENSIONS
111. SELECTION
A . Diameter and Length
Since the switched-reluctance motor is normally used as a
variable-speed device, it is appropriate to have a base speed
specification. At the base speed, the motor is expected to
deliver the rated torque and hence the rated output power.
Using (12) to correspond to the rated power output and
keeping the stack length as a multiple or submultiple of rotor
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 24, NO. 3, MAYIJUNE 1988
bore diameter, the following is obtained:
From (18), D is evaluated if rated speed B , A,, k2, kd, and k
are known. It is possible to start the iterative process of design
with reasonable values.
(11) In general, at the rated operating point the range of k2 is
0.65<kz<0.75. (19)
The values of B for the aligned position can be taken as the
allowable maximum for the core material. The specific
electric loading in amp-conductors per meter is in the range of
25 000 < A , < 90 000. (20)
The duty cycle kd can be assumed to be one to start with.
Using the above starting values, bore diameter D is
and assembly techniques. Small machines have airgaps of
about 0.25 mm.
The ratio between the length to bore k need not be arbitrary.
It is decided by the nature of application and space constraints.
(15) For nonservo applications the range of k can be
0.25 < k < 0.70 (21)
and for servo applications
B. Number of Turns
The relationship between rotor and stator pole-arc is
discussed in [ 2 ] .Using (8) the number of turns per phase Tphis
calculated for a given current. The conductor size is chosen
such that the available winding space will be filled. The
resulting current density is calculated and checked against the
maximum permissible value, which is dependent on the cooling
methods employed in the motor. If there is no restriction on
the outside diameter the winding space can be calculated from
the number of turns, the area of cross-section of the conductor,
and the insulation thickness. The height of the stator pole is
then derived from the winding space.
From (8), for a given specific electric loading and bore
diameter it can be seen that the product of TPhand i is a
constant. The best values are those that would satisfy the
following mutually contradictory demands:
(i) small current and inductance, and
(ii) small values of resistance and inductance of the winding
implying a smaller number of turns.
An engineering trade-off has to be made with thermal
considerations in perspective. Again it must be emphasized
here that the selection of i and Tphis also dependent on the ac
supply available for rectification and subsequent input to the
converter to corltrol the switched-reluctance motor.
 KRISHNAN et al. : DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR SWITCHED-RELUCTANCE MOTORS 459

C . Thermal Consideration TABLE I

The thermal capability of the motor is one of the important

Number of stator poles 6
characteristics. The thermal capability is determined by the Number of rotor poles 4
losses in the machine, the available surface area for cooling, Stator outside diameter 19.4 cm
and additional cooling arrangements such as a fan, etc. The Rotor bore diameter 12.205 cm
Core length 5.076 cm
copper losses are considered first. If R is the per-phase Airgap length 0.025 cm
resistance of the stator winding, the total copper losses for Back iron width 1.25 cm
non-overlapping currents in the stator is given by Number of turn/phase 536
Stator pole arc 0.418 rad
Rotor pole arc 0.628 rad
Pc,=q . I 2 * R (23)
where

I= i/G
and is the rms value of the current. Hence
(24) i1
5t
: RLIGNED

Writing the resistance in terms of number of turns, etc., I-

/
-5 . 1 /
I I I
L 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Excitation in Amps
where a, is the area of cross section of the conductor, K, is the
product of the resistivity, and I is the mean length of turn. Fig. 3. Flux linkages versus excitation current for designed switched-
reluctance motor.
Substituting (26) in (25),

Since the maximum Tph*iis a constant, copper losses are

proportional to current density. Note that to minimize copper
losses, the current density has to be decreased.
The core losses in the switched-reluctance motor consist of .-
-.I
hysteresis and eddy current losses. To reduce the eddy current a
losses, the stator and rotor cores are laminated. As for the '0 5 I0 15 20 25 30 35 40 I

E x c 1 t a t I o n , Rmps
hysteresis losses, the frequency of flux reversal and its path
determine its magnitude. Note that the stator poles do not have Fig. 4. Inductance at aligned position versus stator excitation
flux reversals but that the back iron experiences it in segments
for each switching of the phases. The rotor poles experience inductance introduces an error in the computation of k2 and
one flux reversal per revolution. In contrast to the ac hence in the output equation. Note that
machines, the procedure for calculating the core losses in a
switched-reluctance motor remains a research problem.

IV. DESIGN
VERIFICATION
The design of a switched-reluctance motor from the output
equation is to be verified from the flux linkages versus current
characteristics for both the aligned and unaligned positions.
The flux linkages, and hence the values of inductances, are
analytically obtained using the procedure given in [6]. While
the evaluation of aligned flux linkages can be very accurate,
the same cannot be said for the unaligned values. The leakage
fluxes and the path of the mutual flux complicate the accurate
estimation of the unaligned flux linkages and unaligned
inductance [5]. Finite-element analysis techniques have been
used to accurately estimate the unaligned flux linkages and
inductances [5]. The inaccurate value of the unaligned
The analytical technique to calculate the unaligned induc-
tance may have 50-100 percent error compared to its actual
value, thereby introducing 10-15 percent prediction error in
the motor output. The dimensions of switched reluctance
machine are given in Table I. The machine has been designed
with the same bore and length of an existing induction motor to
enable future performance comparisons between the two types
of motors. The flux linkages versus current characteristics are
calculated and are shown in Fig. 3 for M-19 steel. Fig. 4
displays the inductances at the aligned position as a function of
the stator current. k2 and the ratio of the aligned to unaligned
inductances versus stator current are shown in Fig. 5. Such a

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 460 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 24, NO. 3, MAYIJUNE 1988

and the inductances are given as the slopes of the characteris-

1.001 40t
k
tics shown in Fig. 2.
It can be seen that L , > L, in the present design example,
and hence the incremental gain g,;, decreases with increasing
stator current. It can be proved that the maximum value of g,;
occurs when L, = L , and is given by

g,; = A,.

VI. CONCLUSION

Excitation i n Rmps
A procedure for the design of a nonservo switched-
k2and ratio of aligned to unaligned inductances versus stator current.
reluctance motor has been described in the paper. The design
Fig. 5.
is based on the output equation similar to that of conventional
ac machines. Selection of values and verification through
simple analytical techniques have been given. A criterion to
evaluate the operational limit is developed. A motor based on
this design is under construction, and experimental correlation
is expected in the near future.

I I
20 40
Stator current, A “Variable speed drives using multi-tooth per pole switched reluctance
Fig. 6. k2B versus stator current for designed switched-reluctance motor.
wide variation of k2 affects the power developed per ampere
input if all other machine variables are constant. This is shown
in Fig. 6, relating the product of flux density and k2 versus
stator current. From the output equation it could be realized
that the ‘power developed per ampere is proportional to the
product of flux density and k2.
Based on the maximum current of 20 A and base speed of
1800 r/min the design calculation yields an output power of
2866 W. This calculation is on the basis of 85-percent
efficiency.
LIMIT
V. OPERATIONAL
An increase in the stator current results in enhanced
mechanical power output of the switched-reluctance motor,
but the enhancement of mechanical energy is not uniform for
all the operating points, particularly in the saturated region. At
those points the return diminishes, necessitating an operational
limit on the maximum excitation current. The incremental
mechanical energy per input current can be written as
Ai
A Wm
g .=-_
m‘
- A,
Ai
+ is, (L, - L,) +-
2
(L,- L u )
where A, is the intercept on the flux linkages axis from the
saturated portion of the aligned position curve, shown in Fig.
2. is, is the operating stator current at which the incremental
values are calculated. A i denotes the incremental stator
current, A W,,, is the resulting mechanical energy per stroke,
REFERENCES
J. Byrne and J. C. Lacy, “Electrodynamic system comprising a
variable reluctance machine,” U.S. patent 3 956 678, May 1976.
P. J. Lawrenson, J . M. Stephenson, P. T. Blenkinsop, J. Corda, and N.
N. Fulton, “Variable-speed switched reluctance motors,” IEE Proc.,
I vol. 127, pt. B, no. 4, pp. 253-265, July 1980.
60
J. W. Finch, M. R. Harris, A. Musoke, and H. M. B. Metwally,
motors,” in Proc. Thirteenth Ann. Symp. on Incremental Motion
Control Systems and Devices, May 1984, pp. 293-301.
T. J. E. Miller, “Converter volt-ampere requirements of the switched
reluctance motor drive,” in Conf. Record IEEE-IAS Ann. Meeting,
Oct. 1984, pp. 813-819.
R. Arumugam, D. A. Lowther, R. Krishnan, and J . F. Lindsay,
“Magnetic field analysis of a switched reluctance motor using a two-
dimensional finite element model,” IEEE Trans. Magnet., pp. 1883-
1885, Sept. 1985.
J . Corda and J . M. Stephenson, “Analytical estimation of the minimum
and maximum inductances of a double-salient motor,” in Proc. Inf.
Conf. on Steming
_ . Motors and Systems, k e d s , England, 1979, pp.
50-j9.
R. Krishnan (S’SI-M’82) received the B.E.,
M.E., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering.
He taught for seven years in India. He was Staff
Engineer and Principal Investigator of ac servo
drives projects at Gould Research Center, Rolling
Meadows, IL, between 1982 and 1985. Since
September 1985 he has been an Associate Professor
in the Electrical Engineering Department at Vir-
ginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
(3 1) Blacksburg. His teaching and research interests are
in high-performance vector-controlled variable-
speed drives, switched-reluctance motor drives, electrical machine design,
and static power conversion. He has published more than 40 papers on these
topics. He has developed a graduate program in electric motor drives and
machine design at Virginia Polytechnic.
Dr. Krishnan is a recipient of four IEEE-IAS awards for his papers, both
presented and published. He has been an Associate Editor of the IEEE
TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS since June 1987. He is a
member of the IAS Machine T o o l s , Robotics, and Factory Automation

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 KRISHNAN et al. : DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR SWITCHED-RELUCTANCE MOTORS
Committee and the Chapter Chairman of IEEE-IAS Virginia Mountain
Section.
R. Arumugam received the B.E. and M.Sc.
(Eng’g.) degrees in electrical engineering in 1969
and 1971, respectively, from the University of
Madras, India.
From 1971 to 1976 he was with the Department
of Electrical Engineering, Government College of
Technology, Coimbatore, India. Since 1976 he
has been with the Power Systems Engineering
Division, Anna University, Madras, where he is
engaged in teaching and research. Presently he is on
leave, pursuing his research on switched-reluctance
motors and working towards the Ph.D. degree at Concordia University,
Montreal, PQ, Canada. His research interests are in electrical machine design,
finite-element analysis, and power systems.
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46 1
James F. Lindsay (M’67-SM’78) was born in
Glasgow, Scotland, in 1932 He received the B Sc
degree with honors in electrical engineering from
Glasgow University in 1954 and the Ph.D. degree
from McGill University, Montreal, PQ, Canada in
1973.
He has held positions with the Belmos Company,
Ltd in Scotland from 1954 to 1956, the Royal
Military College of Science in England from 1956
to 1958, and Nova Scotia Technical College from
1958 to 1965, prior to his current appointment at
Concordia University, Montreal, where he is a Professor in the Department of
Electrical Engineering His research activities are in the area of machines and
motor drive systems, and he is a coauthor of two undergraduate textbooks
Dr. Lindsay is a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, a Fellow
of the Engineering Institute of Canada, a Member of the Canadian Society for
Electrical Engineering, and is regi5tered as an Engineer with the Order of
Engineers of Quebec.
1-