Calculation of Characteristics of an SR Motor with Divided Stator Cores Considering the Influence of Micro Air Gaps

摘要

In recent years, permanent magnet (PM) motors are frequently used for driving electric vehicles (EVs) because of high power and efficiency comparing with the other motors. On the other hand, the cost of the PM motors is generally high. Especially, in the application to commercial cars, since a rare-earth magnet is required in order to generate large torque, the cost of such cars tends to be higher. Switched reluctance (SR) motors have doubly salient pole structure, which are made of only silicon steel and coils. No permanent magnet is employed. The SR motor has simple construction, robustness, and low cost. These merits are suitable for application to the EV. In this paper, we examine an SR motor with divided stator cores made of grain-oriented silicon steel. Furthermore, we evaluate the influence of a slight air gap between the divided cores.