Design of a Compact, Lightweight Pulsed Homopolar Generator Power Supply

Abstract : The Center for Electromechanics at The University of Texas at Austin (CEM-UT), funded by the U. S. Army Armament Research and Development Command (ARRADCOM) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has designed and begun construction of a compact, lightweight homopolar generator (HPG) that can be used as a portable field power supply. Nominally a 6-MJ, 750-kA generator, this machine will significantly advance the state of the art in terms of energy density in an inexpensive machine designed for production. The mechanical and electrical design of the machine, which is based on the all-iron-rotating (A-I-R) configuration, is discussed. Fabrication has begun and the machine should be operable by January 1982.