A Demonstration of Noise and Vibration Reduction Techniques For Zero Rare-Earth Magnet Integrated Starter-Generators Used In Military Vehicle Applications

Due to the recent fluctuations in the rare-earth magnet pricing and availability demands, switched reluctance machines (SRMs) have gained significant interest to be used in automotive and military applications. SRMs are known to have high power density/efficiency, low cost, easy manufacturability, wide constant power region, robust structure and high reliability. On the other hand, high acoustic noise and torque ripple have limited their wide spread usage in the past. This paper investigates the analyses, design and experimental verification of various acoustic noise reduction techniques for SRMs. The prototypes of 100 kW SRMs for military ground vehicles have been built with the implemented acoustic noise reduction techniques and were tested using a dynamometer special for electric and hybrid vehicle testing.