Fault-tolerant converter and fault-tolerant methods for switched reluctance generators

Aiming at improving the fault-tolerant performance of switched reluctance generators, a new power converter with fault-tolerance capability is proposed in this paper. The structure of the converter is simple and there is only one transistor in each of the working modes, which makes fault diagnosis easier. To obtain more fault information, an improved current measurement method is proposed. The phase current is obtained by solving current equations obtained by current sensors and rotor positions. Open-circuit and short-circuit faults can be determined by comparing the consistency of the current slope and gate signal. Fault locations can be determined by comparing the relationships among the magnitude of the bus current, the phase current, and the corresponding thresholds. Open-circuit transistors can be replaced by fault-tolerant strategy, which returns the power converter to normal and maintains the stable operation of the system. Simulations and experiments show that the open-circuit and short-circuit faults of transistors can be diagnosed by the proposed strategy.