This article presents a technique that uses rotor shorting rings to start the single-phase switched reluctance (SR) machine, from any rotor position, in a specified direction. It also outlines how the shorting rings enable starting of the machine. Transient finite-element analysis is used to illustrate the torqueproducing mechanism from the aligned position using the rotormounted shorting rings. It is also used to determine the optimal stator and rotor pole arcs and shorting ring design for a 200-W prototype machine. An SR drive system incorporating rotor shorting rings is evaluated, and experimental results show the effectiveness of the technique.

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