Overview of multi-phase switched reluctance motor drives for electric vehicles

Switched reluctance motor (SRM) provide a potential candidate for electric vehicle (EV) applications due to rigid structure, potentially low production cost, the absence of permanent magnets, excellent power-speed characteristics, and high reliability and robustness. This paper aims to review the current research on the design, winding topologies, converter topologies, and control methods of switched reluctance motors (SRMs). Torque ripple and vibration are the main drawbacks of SRMs, which constrain their application. To conquer these drawbacks, multi-phase SRMs (MSRMs), optimum structure, and control methods of SRMs have been utilized over the past decades. In this paper, MSRMs with multiple combinations of stator/rotor poles and winding arrangements are investigated. Different converter topologies are compared, and a full-bridge converter is suitable for SRMs used in EVs. Torque sharing function, direct torque control, and direct instantaneous torque control are the main control methods to reduce the torque ripple of SRMs, which have been comprehensively summarized.