A Versatile Nonlinear Switched Reluctance Motor Model in Simulink using Realistic and Analytical Magnetization Characteristics

Hoang Le-Huy
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering Universit Laval, Qubec, Canada lehuy@gel.ulaval.ca
Abstract - This paper presents the design and implementation of a versatile nonlinear model of switched reluctance motors for use in Simulink environment (SimPowerSystems). The nonlinear model is based on the motor magnetization curves which can be provided as experimental data or calculated using finite-element method or calculated from normally available parameters. An application example using the developed SRM block is presented to validate the model and to illustrate its use.

Patrice Brunelle
Transnergie Technologies Montral, Canada brunelle.patrice@transenergie-tech.com II. CHARACTERISTICS OF SRM A switched reluctance motor is a doubly salient pole machine fed by an unipolar power converter. The SRM construction is simple as compared to other types of electric motors. Both stator and rotor have salient poles. The stator windings are of concentrated type and simple form. In a standard configuration, diametrically opposite stator windings are connected in series to form a two-pole field pattern. The rotor has no winding nor magnets and can be made to have low inertia. Figure 1 shows three common structures of SRM. The motor characteristics depend on several factors, mainly: machine structure (number of phases, number of stator poles and rotor poles, stator and rotor poles arcs), magnetization characteristic of the laminations, converter configuration, and control strategy [1]. Due to the nonlinear magnetization of the iron and to the variable air gap, the machine flux linkage is a nonlinear function of the stator current and the rotor angular position: (1) = ( i, ) This complex function can be obtained by finite-element field computation using the machine geometry (if known) or by experimental measurements on the real machine or approximated by analytical nonlinear functions. The electromagnetic torque produced by each phase of the SRM is proportional to the variation of the machine magnetic co-energy while the machine rotates.

I. INTRODUCTION During the last decades, much effort has been spent in developing switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives for variable-speed applications such as electric vehicle propulsion or industrial drives. In spite of its high torque ripple, this motor, a particular type in the AC motor family, can provide several beneficial features, in particular the robust construction and fault-tolerant operation. The SRM construction is particular by the double saliency of the motor poles. The characteristics of SRM are highly nonlinear because it operates mostly in the saturated region of the magnetization characteristic. As a result, its operation can not be adequately represented by analytical linearized models, as commonly used for synchronous and induction motor. It is proved that a nonlinear model that takes into account the magnetization characteristic of the motor is necessary to correctly represent SRMs. In the literature, several nonlinear SRM models based on machine structure or analytical expressions have been studied and tested [3, 4, 5, 8]. The purpose of this paper is to present the design and implementation of a versatile nonlinear model of switched reluctance motors for use in Simulink environment (SimPowerSystems). The proposed SRM model is implemented as a Simulink/SimPowerSystems block and based on two 3-D lookup tables: (a) current as a function of flux linkage and rotor position, (b) torque as a function of current and rotor position. Both tables are computed from the magnetization characteristic of the SRM (flux linkage as a function of current and rotor position). This magnetization characteristic can be obtained by: (a) finite-element field computation if the machine geometry is known, (b) experimental measurements done on the actual machine, (c) analytical functions using normally available or readily measurable parameters. An application example using the developed SRM block and obtained simulation results are presented to validate the operation of the model and to illustrate its use. The accuracy obtainable with different magnetization curves is considered and discussed.

(a)

(b)

(c) Fig. 1 Three common SRM structures: (a) Three-phase 6/4 SRM, (b) Four-phase 8/6 SRM, (c) Five-phase 10/8 SRM.

0-7803-9252-3/05/$20.00 2005 IEEE

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III. DESIGN OF A NONLINEAR MODEL FOR SWITCHED RELUCTANCE MOTORS IN SIMULINK The proposed SRM model takes the form commonly used to represent an electromechanical system. The inputs are the stator voltages and the outputs are the mechanical variables (torque, speed, rotor position). The model configuration has been chosen to be compatible with three types of data provided by the user (experimental data, calculated data, analytical parameters). A. Model configuration Figure 2 shows the general configuration of the SRM model. It consists of three cascaded sections: input electrical circuit, torque characteristic, and mechanical section.
Electrical circuit
Stator Integrator voltages Magnetization characteristic

Va

+ -

1 s Rs

a I(,) Ia

Vb

+ -

1 s Rs

b I(,) Ib

Vc

+ -

1 s Rs

c I(,) Ic

Fig. 3 Input electrical circuit for a three-phase SRM.

Torque Mechanical characteristic section

Currents Torque Torque Speed Position

C. Magnetization characteristic (i,) The magnetization characteristic (i,) represents the stator flux linkage as a function of the stator current I and the rotor position . This function is highly nonlinear due to the fact that the SRM operates mostly in the saturated region. It can be obtained mainly by three ways: experimental measurement, finite-element computation, and analytical approximation. 1) Experimental measurement: The direct method for measuring magnetization curves is based on the flux equation (Eq. 2). For each value of rotor position, a voltage source is applied to one stator winding and the voltage and the current in the winding are recorded. The magnetization curves are obtained after processing the voltage and current waveforms. Figure 4 shows the magnetization curves of an 6/4 SRM plotted by using experimental data given in [4].
0.5 0.45 Machine SRM 6/4 (60 kW)

Flux linkages Rotor position Computation

User-supplied data Fig. 2 SRM model configuration.

The data supplied by the user are used to calculate: (a) the magnetization characteristic needed in the input electrical circuit, (b) torque characteristics required by torque production section. B. Modeling the input electrical circuit The input electrical circuit consists of Nph nonlinear inductances connected to the converter (Nph is the number of phases). The mutual coupling between these inductances is supposed to be negligible so that the stator phases can be modeled as independent inductances. Figure 3 shows the details of the input circuit for a three-phase SRM. The inputs of SRM model are the stator phase voltages. The magnetic flux linkage in the windings are obtained by integrating the difference between the input voltage and the voltage drop across the stator resistance Rs: s( t ) =

= = = = =

0 5 10 15 20

0.4 0.35 0.3

= 25 = 30 = 35 = 40 = 45

Flux totalise (V.s)

0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0

where s(t) is the flux linkage vector, Vs is the stator voltage vector, Rs is the stator winding resistance, and Is is the stator current vector. The stator currents are given by the nonlinear function I(,) that can be calculated from the magnetization characteristic (i,).

0 ( V s R s I s ) dt

(2)

50

100

150

200 250 Courant (A)

300

350

400

450

Fig. 4 Experimental magnetization curves of an 6/4 SRM.

Experimental measurement is a very long process requiring a special set-up. Also, one must have the specific machine available for testing. 2) Finite-element computation: The magnetization curves can be calculated by using finite-element method based on the

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physical dimensions and characteristics of the SRM. The details usually required for this calculation are: laminations dimensions and magnetic characteristics, air gap length, stator and rotor poles arcs, size and number of turns of the stator windings. These construction details are available only if you are designing your own SRM. Otherwise, they are not available from the manufacturer. Finite-element computation of the SRM magnetization curves is also a time-consuming process. 3) Analytical expression of the magnetization curves: For converter and control system design purpose, it would be convenient and desirable to calculate the magnetization curves from main parameters normally available or easily measurable. The details on the machine geometry will be supposed to be those of a standard construction SRM. In this way, the generic model can represent a category of SRM of standard construction having common main parameters. In the proposed generic model, the extreme magnetization curves, corresponding to aligned and unaligned rotor positions, are approximated by analytical functions as shown in Fig. 5.
Slope = Ldsat m Slope = Ld d Aligned

(6) B = ( Ld L dsat ) ( m L dsa t I m ) where Ld is the d-axis non-saturated inductance and m is the flux linkage at i = Im. The intermediate magnetizations curves corresponding to rotor positions between the aligned position (d-axis) and the unaligned position (q-axis) can be deduced from the two extreme curves d and q by using a nonlinear function f() that approximately represents the variation of magnetic flux linkage in function of the rotor position in a standard structure SRM. This nonlinear function can be written for a general case as: f ( ) = ( 2N r ) ( 3N r ) + 1 where N r is the number of rotor poles. The magnetization characteristic of the SRM can be thus expressed as a function of stator current and rotor position: ( i, ) = L q i + [ L dsa t i + A ( 1 e D. Torque characteristic The SRM electromagnetic torque is equal to the sum of the individual torques developed in each phase. Due to the nonlinearity of the magnetization curves, the developed torque is a nonlinear function of the stator current and the rotor position. The electromagnetic torque developed by one phase of the SRM can be calculated as the derivative of the machine coenergy: (9) T e ( i, ) = W ( i, ) where W is calculated as W ( i, ) =
Bi 3 3 3 2 2 2

(7)

) Lqi ] f( )

(8)

Unaligned q

Slope = Lq 0 Im i

0 ( i, ) di

(10)

Fig. 5 Aligned and unaligned magnetization curves used to build the SRM analytical model

In case where the magnetization curves are calculated from experimental data or from finite-element results, the torque characteristic Te(i,) can be numerically calculated using Eq. 9. Figure 6 shows the SRM torque characteristic calculated from the magnetization curves shown in Fig. 4.
300 Machine SRM 6/4 (60 kW)

The magnetization curve at unaligned rotor position (q axis) is represented as a straight line with slope equal to the minimum inductance Lq: q = Lq i (3) The magnetization curve at aligned rotor position (d axis) is a nonlinear function of the stator current i: d = L dsat i + A ( 1 e ) (4) where Ldsat is the d-axis saturated inductance, and A and B are constants determined by conditions at i = 0 and i = Im (Im is the maximum current in stator windings). In supposing that the machine is really saturated at i = Im, one have e as:
BI m
Couple (N.m)

i = 450 A
250

i = 400 A i = 350 A

200

i = 300 A i = 250 A

Bi

150

i = 200 A i = 150 A

100

i = 100 A
50

i = 50 A
0

0 and the constants A and B can be deduced A = m L dsat I m (5)

10

15

20 25 Position du rotor (degre)

30

35

40

45

Fig. 6 Torque characteristic calculated from the magnetization curves shown in Fig. 4.

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In case where the magnetization curves are analytically calculated by Eq. 8, an analytical expression for the torque T can be obtained from Eqs. 9 and 10 as:
Bi ( L dsa t L q ) i A(1 e ) - + Ai ---------------------------- f ( ) T e ( i, ) = --------------------------------B 2 2
1

Input_connector
Iabcd

TL 1

Mechanic
TL w

A1 Te Teta A2

3 w 4 teta

(11)

A1 2 A2 3 B1 4
B2 Vabcd B1

1 Iabc ITBL TTBL 1 s

where f ( ) = ( 6N r ) ( 6N r )
3 3 2 2 2

f(u)

(12)

B2 5 C1 6 C2 7 D1 8 D2
D2 D1 C2 C1

2 Te

Rs Rs Pos_sensor
angle w

It can be noted that in this relation, the electromagnetic torque is expressed as a product of two functions: one depends on the current i and the other depends on the rotor position. D. Motor and load mechanical model The mechanical dynamics of the motor and the load are governed by the motion equation: d (13) T e = J ------- + B + T L dt where is the rotor speed, J is the total inertia (motor + load), B is the total friction coefficient, and TL is the load torque.
Te + TL Fig. 7 Modeling the motor and load mechanical characteristics. 1 Js + B 1 s

(a)
1 A1
s -

CS1
+

+ v -

V1 2 A2

1 Vabcd

3 B1
s + v -

CS2
+

V2 emu 1 Iabcd

4 B2 5 C1

6 C2

7 D1
s + v -

CS3

+ v -

V3

CS4
+

V4

8 D2

(b)

IV. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SRM MODEL IN SIMULINK/SIMPOWERSYSTEMS A. SRM model in Simulink The SRM can be modeled in Simulink/SimPowerSystems as a nonlinear electric system followed by a mechanical system representing the mechanical dynamics of the motor and the driven load. Figure 8 shows the Simulink diagram that models a four-phase 8/6 SRM. The inputs of SRM model are the stator phase voltages measured at the input connector. The magnetic flux linkage in the windings are obtained by integrating the difference between the input voltage and the voltage drop across the stator resistance Rs. Controlled current sources are used, in the input connector, to inject in the stator windings the currents produced by the nonlinear function i(,) which is implemented as a lookup table ITBL. The electromagnetic torques produced by the stator phases are provided by the nonlinear function Te(i,) implemented as a lookup table TTBL. The torques produced by all stator phases are then summed up to provide the total torque on the rotor shaft. This diagram is identical for all types of SRMs. Only the size of the input connector and the vectors (voltage, current, rotor position) needs to be changed according to the phase number. It can be noted that the coupling between motor phases is supposed to be negligible so that the SRM phases are independently modeled.

Fig. 8 Simulink diagram representing the SRM. (a) General configuration. (b) Input connector details.

B. Model parameters A SimPowerSystems block has been created in Simulink for three most common types of SRM (6/4, 8/6, 10/8) using the generic model described above and the specific model based on realistic magnetization curves. On the dialog box of the SRM block, the user can select the type of SRM (6/4, 8/6 or 10/8). The icon and the input connections will change accordingly to reflect the selected machine type. For each machine type, the user can select between a specific model (that uses the experimental or finite-element calculated magnetization curves) and a generic model (that uses the analytical magnetization curves). For a specific SRM model, one has to specify stator resistance, inertia, friction coefficient, and measured or finite-element calculated magnetization curves which are provided under the form of a lookup table FTBL. The parameters that users have to specify for the generic model are: stator resistance, inertia, friction coefficient, unaligned inductance, aligned inductance, saturated aligned inductance, maximum current, and maximum flux linkage. Before the simulation starts, a special function is called to calculate the lookup tables ITBL (current versus flux and rotor position) and TTBL (torque versus current and rotor position)

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required by the selected model. For a specific model, the userprovided lookup table FTBL is interpolated (using cubic spline interpolation) to produce ITBL, and TTBL is obtained by numeric integration. For the generic model, analytical expressions given by Eqs. 8 and 11 are used for calculations. V. APPLICATION EXAMPLE - A CURRENT-CONTROLLED 60 kW 6/4 SRM DRIVE In this section, an application example using the developed SRM model is presented to verify its operation and also to validate the results by comparing them with those obtained with a specific model based on measured magnetization curves. Figure 9 shows a Simulink diagram of an 6/4 SRM drive which was used for testing the developed SRM model.

The motor speed is maintained at a constant value by using a very large inertia for the load and the average currents are kept constant by the current regulators. Figure 10 shows the waveforms obtained for the flux, the phase currents and the torque using the generic and specific models for this operation condition. It can be noted that in this case the SRM generic model produces results very close to those produced by the specific model which represents exactly the machine measured characteristics. Despite an apparent difference in torque waveforms, the average values obtained are very close: 112.5 N.m for generic model and 112.6 N.m for specific model. B. Test in voltage-fed mode This test is done for a rotor speed of 4704 rpm, a turn-on angle of 31, a turn-off angle of 72.25 and a DC supply voltage of 231 V. As before, the motor speed is maintained at a constant value by using a very large inertia for the load. Since the phase currents cannot attain the reference value imposed by the current regulators, the power switches remain closed during their active periods and the constant DC supply voltage is continu-

Fig. 9 Simulink diagram of an 6/4 SRM drive used for testing the SRM model.

In this test setup, the characteristics of a well-documented 60 kW 6/4 SRM, described in details in [4], are used in both generic and specific models. In our tests, operating conditions similar to those described in [4] were used so as to facilitate the comparison. The SRM is fed by a three-phase asymmetrical power converter. With this configuration, the phase currents can be independently controlled. A rotor position sensor is used so that the turn-on and turn-off angles of each phase can accurately fixed. The currents in stator phases are controlled by three independent hysteresis controller. Depending on the rotating speed, the SRM drive can operate in one of two modes: current-controlled mode and voltage-fed mode. The current-controlled mode is possible only at low speeds where the available dc voltage is sufficient to regulate the current in phase windings. Over a certain speed, current regulation is not possible and the SRM will naturally switch to voltage-fed mode. The parameters used in the generic model were: Lq = 0.67 mH, Ld = 23.62 mH, Ldsat = 0.15 mH, Im = 450 A, m = 0.486 Wb. The magnetization curves used in the specific model were from the measured data presented in [4]. A. Test in current-controlled mode This test is done for a rotor speed of 783 rpm, a turn-on angle of 45, a turn-off angle of 74 and a DC supply voltage of 231 V. The reference current is 220 A and the hysteresis band is 50 A.

(a)

(b) Fig. 10 Flux, current and torque waveforms in current-controlled mode. (a) SRM generic model. (b) SRM specific model

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VI. CONCLUSION A versatile nonlinear model of switched reluctance motors has been developed and implemented as a SimPowerSystems (Simulink) block for three most common types of SRM. In this block, the user can select between a specific model (using experimental or finite-element calculated magnetization curves) and a generic model that uses analytical magnetization curves. The results obtained with both specific and generic models of an 6/4 SRM in current-controlled and voltage-fed modes have confirmed the good operation of the SRM block. The specific model produces accurate results because it is tailored for one specific SRM using finite-element calculated or measured data. On the other hand, the generic model cannot produce accurate waveforms but it can give the correct trends of the waveforms. The main advantage of the generic model resides in the fact that it can represent SRMs using only external measurable parameters without knowing the internal machine geometry. It has been shown that the waveform trends produced by the generic model are accurate enough to be used in the development and evaluation of control algorithms for the SRM. REFERENCES [1] T.J.E. Miller, Switched Reluctance Motors and Their Control, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993. [2] R. Krishnan, Switched Reluctance Motor Drives, CRC Press, 2001. [3] T.J.E. Miller, et al., Ultra-fast model of the switched reluctance motor, IEEE Industry Applications Conference Proceedings, 1998, Vol. 1, pp. 319-326. [4] D.A. Torrey, X.M. Niu, E.J. Unkauf, Analytical modelling of variable-reluctance machine magnetisation characteristics, IEE Proceedings - Electric Power Applications, Vol. 142, No. 1, January 1995, pp. 14-22. [5] T.J.E. Miller, M. McGilp, Nonlinear theory of the switched reluctance motor for rapid computer-aided design, IEE Proceedings, Electric Power Applications, Vol. 137, No. 6, November 1990, pp. 337-347. [6] A.M. Omekanda, C. Broche, M. Renglet, Calculation of the electromagnetic parameters of a switched reluctance motor using an improved FEM-BIEM-application to different models for the torque calculation, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 33, No.4, July-August 1997, pp. 914918. [7] J. Corda, S. Masic, J.M. Stephenson, Computation and experimental determination of running torque waveforms in switched-reluctance motors, IEE Proceedings, Electric Power Applications, Vol. 140, No. 6, November 1993, pp. 387-392. [8] D.A. Torrey, J.H. Lang, Modelling of a nonlinear variable-reluctance motor drive, IEE Proceedings, Vol. 137, Part B, No. 5, September 1990, pp. 314-326.

(a)

(b) Fig. 11 Flux, current and torque waveforms in voltage-fed mode. (a) SRM generic model. (b) SRM specific model

ously applied to the phase windings. This results in linear varying flux waveforms. Figure 11 shows the waveforms obtained for the flux, the phase currents and the torque using the generic and specific models under voltage-fed conditions. It can be noted that the peak and rms values of phase currents tend to be higher with the generic model. These currents are respectively 202 A (peak) and 101.2 A (rms) as compared to 178 A (peak) and 81.5 A (rms) for the specific model. The torque peak and average values obtained with the generic model are respectively 119 N.m (peak) and 76.6 N.m (average) as compared to 101 N.m (peak) and 54.4 N.m (average) obtained with the specific model. The differences between the results are due mainly to the difference in the flux variation profiles between the extreme rotor positions (aligned and unaligned). This profile is a complex function of the geometry of the SRM that the nonlinear function f() given in Eq. 7 cannot exactly reproduce. It can be noted that the results obtained with the generic SRM model in both tests gave the exact trends of the waveforms and the operation of the machine is well represented by this analytical model.

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