Acoustic Noise Reduction in Switched Reluctance Motor Drives

电动马达在日益增长的电气化市场中扮演着关键角色，因为它们是电能的最大消耗者。如今，全球约46%的电力需求来自电动马达。此外，未来几十年，与电机相关的电能消耗可能会增加。造成这一局面的因素很多，包括电动汽车进入市场的渗透率提高、可再生能源系统的使用速度加快、中产阶级不断壮大的司法管辖区家用电器销量增加，以及将因气候变化而面临气温显著上升的地区对制冷设备的需求日益增长。因此，在交通运输部门(如推进电机)、工业部门(如水泵)、商业部门(如压缩机)、住宅部门(如风扇)和能源生产(如风力涡轮机)中的各种应用中，对高效率、高性能和低成本电机的需求日益增加。这也带来了建立可持续供应链的必要性。稀土磁体可以提供高转矩密度和高效率，因此在各种电机应用中得到了广泛的应用。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供应，这是一个重大的担忧。此外，稀土金属的提取对环境也有不利影响。开关磁阻电机(SRM)具有成本低、结构坚固、恒功率范围宽等优点，是一种具有广阔应用前景的新型电机。SRM没有永久磁铁。开关磁阻电机的一个主要挑战是高声噪声和高振动，这阻碍了其在噪声敏感应用中的应用。该研究计划的重点是开发新的开关磁阻电机驱动系统的设计和控制技术，以降低噪声。这将使SRM技术能够在各种应用中广泛使用，因此，它将在更广泛的范围内促进能源效率和可持续性。拟议的研究计划的结果还将造福社会，因为它提供了更多负担得起的电机驱动系统，减少了稀缺的稀土金属资源的使用，并改善了训练有素、高技能的毕业生和具有实践经验的研究人员的人才库。

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.