Acoustic Noise Reduction in Switched Reluctance Motor Drives

电动机在不断增长的电气化市场中发挥着关键作用，因为它们是最大的电能消耗者。目前，全球约46%的电力需求来自电动机。此外，与电机相关的电能消耗在未来几十年可能会增加。许多因素都促成了这一点，包括电动汽车对市场的渗透率提高，可再生能源系统的加速使用，中产阶级不断增长的司法管辖区家用电器的销售增加，以及由于气候变化而面临显着温度上升的地区对冷却设备的需求不断增长。因此，对于高效率、高性能和低成本的电动机的需求日益增加，以用于运输部门（例如推进电机）、工业部门（例如泵）、商业部门（例如压缩机）、住宅部门（例如风扇）和能量产生（例如风力涡轮机）中的各种应用。这也是可持续供应链的必要性。 稀土磁体在各种电机应用中大量使用，因为它们可以提供高扭矩密度和高效率。然而，稀土金属的价格波动和供应链问题可能会限制永磁电机的可用性，这是一个重大问题。此外，稀土金属的提取对环境有不利影响。 开关磁阻电机（SRM）是一种有前途的替代广泛的应用，由于其低成本，坚固的结构，和广泛的恒定功率的速度范围。SRM没有永久磁铁。 开关磁阻电机的一个主要挑战是高噪声和振动，这阻碍了其在噪声敏感应用中的使用。建议的研究计划的重点是开发新的设计和控制技术的开关磁阻电机驱动器，以减少噪音。这将使SRM技术在各种应用中得到广泛使用，因此，它将更广泛地促进能源效率和可持续性。拟议研究计划的结果还将通过提供更实惠的电机驱动系统，减少稀缺稀土金属资源的使用，以及通过改善训练有素的高技能毕业生和研究人员的人才库来造福社会。

Electric motors play a critical role in the growing market for electrification, as they are the largest consumer of electrical energy. Today, around 46% of the global electricity demand is from electric motors. Furthermore, motor-related electrical energy consumption is likely to increase in the next few decades. Many factors are contributing to that including the higher penetration of electrified vehicles into the market, the acceleration of the use of renewable energy systems, the increasing sales of household appliances in jurisdictions with a growing middle class, and the growing need for cooling equipment in regions that will face significant temperature rise due to climate change. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for high-efficiency, high-performance, and low-cost electric motors for various applications in the transportation sector (e.g. propulsion motors), the industrial sector (e.g. pumps), the commercial sector (e.g. compressors), the residential sector (e.g. fans), and the energy generation (e.g. wind turbines). This also brings up the necessity for a sustainable supply chain. Rare earth magnets are heavily utilized in various motor applications since they can provide high torque density and high efficiency. However, it is a significant concern that the price volatility and supply chain issues of rare earth metals may limit the availability of permanent magnet motors. Besides, the extraction of rare earth metals has adverse effects on the environment. Switched Reluctance Motors (SRMs) are a promising alternative for a wide range of applications due to their low-cost, rugged construction, and wide constant-power speed range. SRMs do not have permanent magnets. A major challenge in switched reluctance motors is the high acoustic noise and vibration, which has impeded its use in noise-sensitive applications. The proposed research program is focused on developing novel design and control techniques for switched reluctance motor drives to reduce the acoustic noise. This will enable widespread use of SRM technology in a wide variety of applications and, hence, it will contribute more broadly to energy efficiency and sustainability. The results of the proposed research program will also benefit the society by providing more affordable motor drive systems, by reducing the use of scarce rare-earth metal resources, and by improving the talent pool of well-trained, highly skilled graduates and researchers with hands-on experience.