Sizing of the Motor Geometry for an Electric Aircraft Propulsion Switched Reluctance Machine Using a Reluctance Mesh-Based Magnetic Equivalent Circuit

Abstract

The switched reluctance motor (SRM) is a promising candidate for electric propulsion systems. In the design process of an SRM, the motor geometry needs to be determined. Using the finite element method (FEM) might be time-consuming for the sizing of the motor geometry. As an alternative, electromagnetic models based on a magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) can be utilized for the sizing of an SRM. MEC models require fewer computational resources and can help determine the electromagnetic performance with reasonable accuracy. Using the conventional MEC method for SRM sizing might be challenging since the flux pattern inside the motor should be changed for different motor dimensions. In order to address this challenge, this paper applies a reluctance mesh-based MEC technique to determine the geometry of a three-phase 12/16 SRM for a high-lift motor in the NASA Maxwell X-57 electric aircraft. A comprehensive reluctance mesh-based MEC model is developed for this purpose. Both the static and dynamic characteristics of the SRM geometry are evaluated using the reluctance mesh-based MEC method. The determined geometry is verified using the results computed from FEM.