Abstract
In this paper, a very low cost and robust sensing method for the rotor position of a TSRM(Toroidal Switched Reluctance Motors) is described. Position information of the rotor is essential for SRM drives. The rotor position sensor such as an opto-interrupter or high performance encoder is generally used for the estimation of rotor position. However, these discrete position sensors not only add complexity and cost to the system but also tend to reduce the reliability of the drive system. In order to solve these problems, in the proposed method, rotor position detection is achieved using voltage waveforms induced by the time varying flux linkage in the search coils, and then the appropriate phases are excited to drive the SRM. But the search coil's EMF is generated only when the motor rotates. Therefore the rotor position sensing method using squared Euclidean distance at a standstill is also examined. The simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the performance of the proposed method in this paper.