Magnetic equivalent circuit modeling of rolling rotor switched reluctance motors

Rolling rotor switched reluctance motors (RRSRM) are known as exceptional drive systems. Their fundamental operation is characterized by the coupling of electrical, magnetic and mechanical components and the especial operating mode [1]. The rotor is moved eccentrically in the stator. Due to this property an investigation with conventional mode of description is possible only on limited scale. Therefore, this work describes a new approach on the basis of magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) method. This method allows the user more possibilities that the finite element method. These investigations on RRSRM are executed on the basis of descriptions which based on the Ohm's and Kirchhoff's law. This modeling method is supported by the object-oriented modeling language Modelica and the simulation environment Dymola [2] [3]. By means of this approach the investigations of heterogeneous physical properties of the motor and a possible area of application will be presented in this paper. This method of description offers the possibility to implement each different physical domain inside the same simulation environment, where the coupling between the different physical domains can be well investigated. This approach will show that there are physical interconnections between the miscellaneous domains that have strong influences on the mode of operation.