J. K. Lin

Longitudinal and Transversal End-Effects Analysis of Linear Switched Reluctance Motor

An accurate estimation of flux linkage characteristics is very important during the preliminary design stage and high-performance control of linear switched reluctance motor (LSRM). In this paper, longitudinal and transversal end-effects of a double-side LSRM are studied using analytical method and finite element analysis (FEA). The estimation discrepancy introduced by both end-effects is presented respectively by investigating their sensitivities to machine parameters, such as excitation level, translator position, and stack length.

Study of art of automotive active suspensions

In this study, research and development of automotive active suspensions are reviewed. Structures and models of various automotive suspensions are described. Furthermore, typical commercial products of automotive suspensions are illustrated. Based on the reported studies and development, the authors discus the comparisons between various vehicular suspensions from the aspects of structure, weight, cost, ride comfort, handling performance, reliability, dynamic performance, energy recovery, and commercial maturity. Consequently, it is deduced that electromagnetic active suspensions are the future trend of automotive suspensions due to simple structure, high-bandwidth, accurate and flexible force control, high ride quality, good handling performance, and energy regeneration. At the same time, the issues of future research and development of electromagnetic active suspensions are proposed.

Research on a novel switched reluctance generator for wind power generation

For conventional generators for wind power generation, low speed operation and large power are difficult to be achieved. However, significant improvement of the above performances can be achieved by the developed novel switched reluctance generator. Furthermore, the developed SRG is sample and more reliable than conventional generators since it is composed of a specified number of independent generation units, which are installed easily on site. Firstly, a developed novel switched reluctance generator is present, and then the actual behavior and typical waveforms of the novel switched reluctance generator are discussed according to the actual testing. In addition to the mechanical aspect of novel switched reluctance generator, due attention is given to the control aspect is considered for wind power generator system implementation. The novel controller designed for this novel generator is given and it can fit the generation pattern of the wind power generation. The proposed machine is the first SRG for wind power generation in the world using a parallel modular approach.

Analysis and design of a cost effective converter for switched reluctance motor drives using component sharing

In this paper, a new and cost effective converter, consisting of “half-bridge” IGBT modules and SCRs, for switched reluctance motor drives is proposed. The new method allows the sharing of the IGBT bridge to the switched reluctance motors winding, thus it significantly reduce by half of the component cost. The proposed converter topology is a variation of the conventional asymmetric bridge converter for switched reluctance motor drives. However, utilization of switch modules is enhanced considerably. The requirements of switched reluctance motor drives on converters and the operation of the proposed converter are analyzed and discussed. Furthermore, the simulation and experimental results confirm the feasibility of the proposed converter.

Investigation on parameters of automotive electromagnetic active suspensions

This paper presents the model of the electromagnetic active suspension consisting of an electromagnetic actuator and a mechanical spring. Furthermore, the authors investigate the effects of two crucial parameters, which are the spring stiffness and actuator force, on performances of the suspension. The study shows that the large spring stiffness results in the small initial displacement and requires the large actuator force, the small spring stiffness leads to the large initial displacement and needs the small force, and the large actuator force improves steady-state and dynamic performances and results in large volume, more weight and high cost of the actuator. Thus, this paper is considerable valuable for better designs of the electromagnetic active suspension and the actuator.

A controller for linear compressors propelled by linear switched reluctance actuators

A controller for the linear compressors propelled by the linear switched reluctance actuators is developed and presented in this paper. The controller is based on DSP TMS320F28335. It consists of the DSP circuit, the protection circuit, the multi-output DC supply, the current sensing circuit, the driving circuit, the AC-DC rectifier circuit, and the actuator converter. The double-loop control scheme is proposed and implemented. One of which is the closed-loop current control and the other is the closed-loop frequency control. The architecture of the controller and the control scheme are illustrated in the paper. The prototype of the proposed controller is developed. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed controller is satisfactory and able to match the linear compressors propelled by linear switched reluctance actuators.

Integral sliding mode control and its application on active suspension system

Active suspension system is a hot issue in the recent research of automotive industry, which is to generate active force to suppress the variation of the vehicle and improve safety and comfort for the passengers. By observing the dynamics of the vehicle, the controller output forces through linear actuators. Integral sliding mode control is applied here to calculate the output forces and then reject the disturbance. In this paper, an accurate nonlinear active suspension system model is developed first; decoupling of the sprung mass subsystem is investigated hereafter to isolate the dependence of the variables, then integral sliding mode control is used to reject the disturbance and reach the referenced surface for each subsystem. PID control, as a conventional control method, is compared here with the integral sliding mode control. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed control method.

Design optimization of a multi-modular linear switched reluctance actuator

In this paper, a multi-modular linear switched reluctance actuator (LSRA) is proposed in the active suspension application for its robust structure and fast dynamic response. In order to meet the requirements by active suspension system, a design optimization method, which aims to improve the average force, reduce the force ripple and increase the force density, is described in details. Based on the preliminary design of LSRA, the stator pole width and translator pole width are selected as the optimization variables. Constraints on both pole widths are then discussed by considering the feasible triangle of LSRA and suspension volume limitation. Furthermore, the effects of both pole widths on average force, force ripple and force density are analyzed. Optimization results under various weight factor combinations are obtained and demonstrated by comparing the value of optimization objective function.