Double Segmented Rotor Switched Reluctance Machine With Shared Stator Back-Iron for Magnetic Flux Passage

There is much interest in double rotor electric machines due to their versatile configurations and performance characteristics arising from the flexibility of having a pair of rotors. Double rotor machines show promising application prospects in advanced hybrid electric vehicle powertrains due to the requirement of dual electromechanical ports in such systems. Integrating these powertrain systems with double rotor machines not only brings design freedom in component layout, but also reduces the number of parts and thus improves compactness. The switched reluctance family of double rotor machines offers unique characteristics in terms of simple structure and no permanent magnets and thus is a strong candidate for such applications. By introducing the segmented rotor design to double rotor switched reluctance machines, a unique design with shared stator back-iron is made possible, achieving increased machine compactness. This paper discusses the design, analysis, and experimental validation of a double segmented rotor switched reluctance machine and compares the design against a target double rotor SRM specification.