Due to the expected increase in the electric vehicles (EVs) sales and hence the increase of the price of rare-earth permanent magnets, the switched reluctance motors (SRMs) are gaining increasing research interest currently and in the future. The SRMs offer numerous advantages regarding their structure and converter topologies. However, they suffer from the high torque ripple and complex control algorithms. This paper presents an improved direct instantaneous torque control (DITC) strategy of SRMs for EVs. The improved DITC can fulfill the vehicle requirements. It involves a simple online torque estimator and a torque error compensator. The turn-on angle is defined analytically to achieve wide speed operation and maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) production. Moreover, the turn-off angles are optimized for minimum torque ripples and the highest efficiency. In addition, this paper provides a detailed comparison between the proposed DITC and the most applicable torque control techniques of SRMs for EVs, including indirect instantaneous torque control (IITC), using torque sharing function (TSF) strategy and average torque control (ATC). The results show the superior performance of the proposed DITC because it has the lowest torque ripples, the highest torque tor current ratio, and the best efficiency over the low and medium speed ranges. Moreover, the comparison shows the advantages of each control technique over the range of speed control. It provides a very clear overview to develop a universal control technique of SRM for EVs by merging two or more control techniques.

Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) have been receiving great attention in electric vehicle (EV) applications. However, the complicated control and inherent torque ripples are the major drawbacks of SRMs. This paper introduces a numerical estimation method for the optimum control parameters of SRM based on a simplified average torque control (ATC) strategy for EVs. The proposed control aims to simplify the control algorithm to cut down complexity and cost. Besides, it aims to achieve all the vehicle requirements. A multi-objective optimization problem is set to determine the most efficient excitation parameters that can fulfill the vehicle requirements. The objective function has two terms: torque ripple and efficiency. Proper constraints for both turn-on and turn-off angles are included in order to achieve high-performance control, maximum torque per Ampere (MTPA) production, and reliable operation. Besides, additional toque constraints are involved to ensure fast dynamics, high-performance torque tracking capability, and parameter insensitivity. The motor model is accurately achieved based on the experimentally measured torque and flux characteristics. Several simulations are executed to prove the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control. Moreover, experimental results are obtained to validate the theoretical findings. It is observed that the proposed control has a significant reduction of torque ripples compared to the conventional control methods. The average reduction ratio of torque ripple over the speed range is about 72.43%. Besides, the proposed control succeeds in maintaining a very good efficiency and high torque/current ratio. It also has a fast-dynamic performance.