Ioana Bentia

Novel modular switched reluctance machine for safety-critical applications

Electrical machines and drives used in various safety-critical applications are of special design in order to achieve the required fault tolerance level. In the paper a novel modular fault tolerant switched reluctance machine is proposed and studied. It is proved by means of dynamic simulations that the proposed machine is able to have continuous operation also despite of five severe winding fault conditions.

Novel modular fault tolerant switched reluctance machine for reliable factory automation systems

Electrical machines and drives used in diverse critical fields like advanced factory automation systems, automotive and aerospace applications, military, energy and medical equipment, etc.) require both special motor and converter topologies to achieve high level fault tolerance. In the paper a novel modular fault tolerant switched reluctance machine is proposed. Its stator is built up of simply to manufacture and to replace modules. The machine is able to have continuous operation despite winding faults of diverse severity. It is fed by a special power converter having separate half H-bridge leg for each coil. Thus a complex and high reliable electrical system is obtained. By advanced dynamic co-simulations (using a coupled Flux 2D and Simulink® program) the behaviour of the drive system under five winding fault conditions are studied. The obtained results prove the fault tolerant capacity of the proposed machine.

On a rotary-linear switched reluctance motor

In the paper a switched reluctance rotary-linear motor is proposed and investigated. It is mechanically robust, simple to construct and easy to operate also in hostile industrial and automotive environment. The stator is built up modularly from correctly shifted three usual 8 poles switched reluctance motor stators. The mover is constructed of several common 6 poles SRM rotor stacks. The motor is able to ensure both rotating and linear movement. Its complex structure is analyzed in depth by means of finite element method based three dimensional numeric field computations. The proposed rotary-linear motor is expected to be useful in diverse advanced industrial and automotive applications where both linear and rotary motion is required and the space at disposal is reduced.

Effects of winding faults on the switched reluctance machine's working performances

The switched reluctance machine (SRM) is considered to be ideal for numerous safety-critical applications (in aerospace, automotive, defense, medical, etc.) where it is desirable that the electrical drive systems to be fault tolerant. The phase independence characteristics of the SRM enable it to operate (at lower power and higher torque ripples) also under partial phase failure conditions. The paper deals with the most frequent faults of the SRMs and their detection. By means of numeric field analysis the effects of winding faults are also investigated. By using advanced co-simulation techniques the dynamic behavior of the SRM in healthy and several faulty conditions are also studied in the paper. The overall conclusions highlight the advantage of using such electrical machines in applications where an unwanted shutdown could have catastrophic effects on the entire system.

On the control of a rotary-linear switched reluctance motor

In several advanced industrial applications both rotary and linear movements are required. But in many cases, mainly due to space limitations it is difficult to use two motors to ensure the two types of motion. For such applications the rotary-linear motors are ideal solutions. The proposed switched reluctance rotary-linear motor practically combines three identical rotating motors with a linear one. It can be used in precise two degrees of freedom motion control systems, as pick and place equipment, robotics, instrumentation, automotive applications, etc. In the first part of the paper the proposed motor is described together with its control system. In the second part results of simulations are given for the rotational, translational and combined rotating-linear movements. All these results emphasize the correct design of the motor and its capability to perform both the two types of movements.

Dual motion switched reluctance motor for advanced industrial applications

A special switched reluctance motor able to perform both rotary and linear motion is proposed. Due to its compact and reliable construction and to its simple control it could be used in diverse dual motion industrial applications. In the paper the construction, working principle and design of the proposed machine are detailed. Its performances are studied by means of finite elements method based numeric field analyzes and of dynamic simulations.

Modular fault tolerant switched reluctance machine - design and dynamic simulations

Electrical machines and drives used in various critical fields must be of special design in order to achieve the required fault tolerance level. In the paper a modular fault tolerant switched reluctance machine is proposed and studied by means of dynamic simulations. It is proved that the machine in study is able to have continuous operation also despite of five severe winding fault conditions.

Contributions to the two degrees of freedom modular variable reluctance motors used in advanced manufacturing systems

In advanced manufacturing systems complex movements are frequently needed. These can be performed by motion systems able to execute motion of several degrees of freedom. Usually each type of movement is performed by one independent electrical machine. In a more developed approach electrical machines able to perform more degrees of freedom motion are widely required. In the paper some contributions to two degrees of freedom modular variable reluctance motors are presented. Two typical machines able to perform such motion are discussed: a planar motor and a rotary-linear one.

On the usefulness of numeric field computations in the study of the switched reluctance motor's winding faults

The switched reluctance machine (SRM) is considered as one of the most inherently fault tolerant electrical machines. Unfortunately despite its robustness and reliability, faults (mainly of its windings and bearings) can appear during its operation. Therefore the SRMs condition monitoring is very important mainly in those safety-critical applications where unwanted shutdowns could have catastrophic effects both on human life and costs. The paper deals with the winding faults of the SRMs and their detection. The effects of winding faults are investigated in details by means of advanced numeric field analysis based on the finite element method (FEM). This numerical method is widely used in electrical engineering to solve complex electromagnetic problems. In the last part of the paper also the effectiveness of the flux differential winding fault detector is taken into study.