Fault Diagnosis of Switched Reluctance Motors in Electrified Vehicle Applications

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while switched reluctance motors (SRMs) are one promising motor technology for EVs. This chapter illustrates the fault diagnosis and fault tolerance operation of SRM- based EVs/HEVs, where high reliability is a vital factor involving human lives. Based on the traditional asymmetric half-bridge topology for SRM drives, the characteristics of switching devices upon open-circuit and short-circuit are analyzed, and the correspond‐ ing fault diagnosis methods are developed. In order to achieve fault tolerance operation, the central point of SRM stator winding is tapped to form a modular half-bridge configuration to provide fault diagnosis and fault tolerance functions. The fault diagnosis func‐ tions are set idle in normal conditions. Simulation results in Matlab/Simulink and experimental results on a 150-W four-phase 8/6 SRM are used to validate the fault identi‐ fication, and on a 750-W, three-phase 12/8 SRM are used to validate the fault tolerance operation of the proposed strategy, which may have significant implications for EV/HEV applications.