Single and multiphase compulsator system architectures: a practical comparison

The Center for Electromechanics at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-CEM) has designed, built, and tested three generations of iron-core and air-core compensated pulsed alternators (CPA). These include the iron core, small caliber, cannon caliber, and model scale compulsators. Early CPA were single-phase machines that were optimized for a specific load and desired performance. The most recent machine, the model-scale CPA, is a multiphase alternator coupled to the load through a rectifier. This paper includes a discussion of the requirements and capabilities of both single-phase and multiphase systems, a point design for each system type, and a comparison of system performance in driving a cannon caliber launcher.