Heavy Industry – How to Model a Switched Reluctance Motor

Overview

Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) offer a rugged, cost-effective solution for heavy industrial applications where efficiency, robustness, and controllability are paramount. However, their nonlinear magnetic characteristics and torque ripple present unique challenges for accurate modeling and control.​

This session explores modeling an SRM using Ansys simulation tools, focusing on heavy-duty environments such as mining, manufacturing, and large-scale automation. We'll focus on the interplay between electrical excitation, rotor dynamics, and thermal behavior, especially under high torque and continuous duty cycles. The webinar concludes with a practical case study demonstrating the complete modeling workflow in a simulation environment.​

What You Will Learn

• Fundamental operating principles of SRMs: construction, magnetic saliency, and unipolar drive requirements
• Rotor and stator geometries, capturing magnetic saturation, and accurately representing nonlinear inductance profiles​
• Finite element (FEA) methods to construct dynamic system models suitable for performance prediction and controller design
• Coupling between electrical excitation, rotor dynamics, and thermal behavior, especially under high torque and continuous duty cycles​

Who should attend

This talk is aimed at engineers and engineering managers looking to gain a clear understanding of how to develop reliable and realistic SRM models tailored to the demands of heavy industry.