Modular stator switched reluctance motor for fault tolerant drive systems

A modular stator switched reluctance motor (SRM) for fault tolerant drive systems is proposed. Owing to the particular construction of the stator there is no mutual coupling between adjacent phases. Hence, the motor can work also when a part of the coils is faulted and the faulted modules can be replaced without uncoupling the machine from the load or gearbox. The sizing particularities are presented and the mathematical model of the motor is developed. The results obtained via finite element analysis are compared with the analytical ones, and with that resulting after testing the constructed laboratory model. All these prove that the proposed SRM can be used in safety–critical drives.