Radial force and torque of a bearingless switched reluctance motor operating in a region of magnetic saturation

Bearingless switched reluctance motors, which can control rotor radial positions with magnetic force, have been proposed. These motors are characterized by integration of switched reluctance motors and magnetic bearings. It is essential for a control system to consider magnetic saturation in real time in order to realize stable operation at a full torque load. Thus, this paper proposes a method for fast calculation of radial force and torque of a bearingless switched reluctance motor operating in a region of magnetic saturation. It is shown experimentally that the proposed method is effective in calculating the radial force and the torque under conditions of magnetic saturation. Index Terms--Bearingless motors, magnetic saturation, magnetic suspension, switched reluctance motors.