Integrated Switched Reluctance Starter/Generator for Aerospace Applications: Particle Swarm Optimization for Constant Current and Constant Voltage Control Designs

Abstract

Extensive efforts have been made to develop reliable and efficient onboard generation systems for electric aircraft. Due to the inherited robustness, Switched Reluctance Machines (SRMs) have attracted attention as a promising candidate for an integrated starter/generator in aerospace applications. This paper presents two modes of operation: Constant Current (CC) and Constant Voltage (CV). A Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)-based tuning approach is employed to optimize the controller of a Switched Reluctance Generator (SRG). The presented controller is evaluated using a three-phase 6/4 SRG. The Control-Hardware-in-the-loop (CHiL) has been used to elucidate the viability of the explored control concept practically.