Design of a Three-Phase High Torque Density Modular Linear Rotary Switched Reluctance Launcher

In order to combine the advantages of modularity for enhancing motor power density, this article proposes a three-phase modular linear rotary switched reluctance launcher (MLRSRL) with both segmented stator and rotor for electrmagnetic launchers. Unlike the conventional structures, the proposed stator and rotor structure includes some discrete module, a stator consisting of six ferromagnetic rings containing U-shaped ferromagnetic blocks, where two ferromagnetic rings spaced at a certain distance from each other form a phase for linear motion, and opposite U-shaped ferromagnetic blocks in each of the stator ferromagnetic rings form a phase for rotary motion. The modular structure reduces the motor mass, and the feature of short magnetic circuits improves the utilization of materials, thus increasing the torque density of the motor. In order to maximize the torque, the sensitivity analysis of MLRSRL has been carried out by 3-D FEM for different parameters, such as stator pole arc, rotor pole arc, rotor module radial depth, and rotor module edge width, and the results of the sensitivity analysis are presented to analyze the electromagnetic characteristics of the optimized motor. The static and dynamic performances of the proposed MLRSRL are obtained by finite element analysis (FEA). The simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed modular structure motor.