High performance switched reluctance drives with wide field weakening range

For electrical vehicles, switched reluctance drives present a promising alternative-compared to asynchronous and synchronous (permanent magnet) concepts. For these applications, a very wide field weakening range is a key issue. Other requirements include high torque output from a small machine and low current ripple at the DC-side without the use of bulky filters - when powered from fuel cells or advanced Lithium-Ion-batteries. A new converter and control strategy according to these requirements is presented and compared to existing designs. The comparison is done for a drive system with a continuous power rating of 30 to 40 kW.