The paper gives the results of investigating an experimental switched
reluctance drive. It is confirmed that the main cause of noise and vib
ration in such a drive is electromagnetic forces. It is established th
at vibrations are excited by sharp changes in current derivative when
switching off a phase or by relay current controller operation. A meth
od for reducing the level of noise and vibration by forming current at
the moment of phase switch-off is proposed and experimentally confirm
ed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.