A novel variable-reluctance N-speed synchro and its application for synchronous reluctance motor drive

The authors have previously presented a control scheme for synchronous reluctance motors in which the motor current is controlled to keep the MMF (magnetomotive force) phase angle constant, and have shown that a simpler control scheme is possible by using an N-speed synchro for a 2N pole motor. However, conventional brushless synchros are expensive and bulky due to the intricate construction, where a rotary transformer supplies current to the exciting winding on the rotor core. The authors have therefore developed a novel VR (variable reluctance) synchro without the rotary transformer. This paper describes the theory of the novel VR synchro and presents measured waveforms of the output voltages of a prototype VR four-speed synchro. In addition, a variable speed drive system for eight-pole reluctance motors which uses the new control scheme is introduced. In this system, the VR synchro is directly connected to the motor shaft, whose output voltages are demodulated and directly used as the current phase command for the inverter current supplied to the motor. Experimental results show a satisfactory speed response for four-quadrant drive.