Research Projects

The recent changes in transportation requirements led to the standardization of electric drives for various traction applications. Sustainability is one of the main purposes, subjective evaluation and performance optimization of the electric drives are of prime importance. Most traction motors are fundamentally designed based on the Torque-Speed and Speed-Time curves. Because of higher power density distributions, permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) and brushless DC motor (BLDC) are having a better performance when compared to the other electric motors. Hence, they are the predominant choice in traction applications. But the field poles of the rotors of these motors are made of permanent magnets. This makes the rotor construction frail. Also, the uncertainty in the cost of rare-earth metals made the manufacturers look for a permanent magnet-free alternative. Based on all these, higher efficiency and higher power density switched reluctance motor (SRM) technology forms an attractive and reasonable substitute for most applications. Though SRMs are having many advantages, many drawbacks like torque ripple generation which produces noise and vibrations, and control system design complexity are hindering the growth of usage of switched reluctance motor in various traction applications. To study and work on the related issues of SRMs, it is proposed to establish an experimental test rig and control panel of SRMs in the laboratory. The experimental test rig would consist of Switched Reluctance Motor, a Microcontroller for controlling the motor with modified conduction parameters, and a Dynamometer to apply and vary the load characteristics. The project aims to mitigate unwanted vibrations and acoustic noise by design modifications.