A Response Surface Method Approach to Modular Stator, Segmented Rotor Switched Reluctance Motor Design

The switched reluctance motor (SRM) lends itself well to structural modification to improve its torque performance and to enhance its fault tolerance. These alterations include rotor and stator segmentation, with the latter showing promise in increasing the fault tolerance through motor modularization. A statistical, design of experiments approach is used in this study to design a segmented stator, segmented rotor 12-8 SRM (SSSR-SRM) approximately the size of a NEMA 56 frame. The modularity of this SRM is improved by having the coils along the rim instead of the usual pole tooth and having these independently wound of each other. By using response surface methodology (RSM), the optimal sizing that produces the maximum average output torque for the SSSR-SRM of the given size and dimensional constraints is found. The response surface generated can also be used to predict the output torque of SSSR-SRM with different physical dimensions.