Regenerative Braking Using Switched Reluctance Generator

This paper proposes an effective method of energy regeneration during braking for a dc motor or internal combustion(IC) engine. During the braking period, instead of dissipating the kinetic energy in the brake shoes and poles in the form of heat, this energy is recovered using a switched reluctance generator that is mechanically coupled to the shaft of prime mover. Here the DC motor or the IC engine acts as a prime mover for the switched reluctance generator (SRG) which can be considered the dual of the switched reluctance motor (SRM). In the SRG the mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy by properly synchronizing the phase currents with rotor position. During generation, the SRG produces negative torque that is trying to oppose rotation, thereby extracting energy from the prime mover. Hereby the kinetic energy from the prime mover is converted into the electrical energy and used for battery charging applications. SRG generates energy as directed by the power controller.