Feasibility Assessment of IEC 61800-9-2-2023 Standard in Switched Reluctance Motor Drives

Introduction: Global electricity demand has increased significantly in recent decades, driven primarily by the growth of industrial and commercial activities. Electric motor systems account for more than 53% of the world's electricity consumption, with a strong predominance of the industrial sector. Despite the widespread use of three-phase induction motors, limitations such as reduced performance under partial loads, absence of direct speed control, high starting currents, and construction constraints have encouraged the search for technological alternatives. Regulatory requirements for energy efficiency, namely IEC 61800-9-2:2023, reinforce this need. In this context, SRM stands out as a promising solution, offering high power density and less dependence on critical materials. Thus, this work aims to analyze the energy performance of a switched reluctance motor and evaluate the applicability of the methods defined in IEC 61800-9-2:2023.

Methods: In this work, an experimental study was carried out on an SRM motor driven by a TURNtide converter. The losses of the motor, the Complete Drive Module (CDM) and the Power Drive System (PDS) are measured for two test methods: the method based on the IEC 61800-9-2:2023 standard, and a test method based on thermal stabilization. The motor drive is tested at the standardized operating points defined in the IEC 61800-9-2:2023 standard.

Results: The results indicate that the highest percentual variations occur in conditions far from the nominal regime, especially at low load torque and low speed, while the agreement between the methods is high at the operating points close to the nominal load.

Conclusion: The results indicate that the test method defined in IEC 61800-9-2 provides consistent loss estimations under nominal regimes but has limitations under partial load conditions. It is recommended to (i) integrate thermal stabilization at the standardized points and (ii) adapt the standard to the specificities of switched reluctance motor drives.