Investigation of Reliability and Complexity of Torque Control for Switched Reluctance Drives

Reliability is of great concern in applications like automotive, aerospace and home appliances in which Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) is getting more popularity. Therefore, the reliability of the motor drive hardware and control algorithm should be ensured. In this study, the reliability and complexity of several widely used control methods for SRM drive are described using theoretical and simulation analysis. The effect of common errors associated with a practical SRM drive on its control systems' reliability is analyzed. In addition, an investigation on the relationship between system complexity and reliability of SRM control based on information flow complexity within the control technique is also presented. Three methods including Current Chopping Control (CCC), Torque Sharing Function based Direct Instantaneous Torque Control (TSF-DITC) and Direct Torque Control (DTC) are considered and compared. The results obtained showed that the CCC method shows the highest robustness to measurement error followed by the TSF-DITC then the DTC. However, the TSF-DITC method achieved superior torque characteristics while maintaining high robustness and reliability.