Power optimization and ripple minimization in switched reluctance motor drives of small modular reactor and a comparison with a permanent magnet motor

This paper investigates the performance of the permanent magnet and switched reluctance motors (SRMs) used as rod controls driven in a nuclear power plant in parallel. This work aims to suggest ways to overcome torque ripple, which is a notable drawback of SRMs. This will be accomplished by implementing current control of the motor based on the PI controller in a closed loop. Further, this study intends to optimize the output power of plants so that the input reference can be traced properly. Two algorithms (firefly and differential evolution) are used to optimize the values of the proportional and integral coefficients. Real-time simulation results (carried out using MATLAB © software) demonstrate a 20% improvement in the swings of SRMs. The findings also show that the power distribution could be fully traced. Finally, the performance analysis highlights the effectiveness of the SRM following the proposed control scheme. [Display omitted] •Improving power in small modular reactors.•Decreasing the swing of the torque and power of switched reluctance motor in Nuclear.•Current control of switched reluctance motor in rod control drive mechanism of SMRs.