Research of a Modular Pulsed Alternator Power System

This paper investigates a modular pulsed alternator power system (MPAPS) composed of multiple pairs of counter-rotating alternators. This design provides benefits of torque management, machine manufacturing, current pulse shape flexibility, and fault tolerance, especially in powering long-range railguns. For a practical railgun system powered by MPAPS, one issue is determining the number of modules. Due to the complex nature of pulsed alternators and system, this paper presents a design methodology based on scaling laws of pulsed alternators and system. A variety of physical scaling laws are investigated. The implemented scaling laws are able to predict the system performances as a function of the number of modules including specific energy, alternator temperature, reliability, and efficiency. Finally, taking into account all factors, the proper number of modules is determined. This method can save time and provide the theoretical guideline for the practical design and optimization.