Compulsators: principles and applications

The authors discuss work being done on reducing and tailoring generator internal impedances in order to maximise their transient response. The work is taking place at the centre for Electromechanics at The University of Texas at Austin (CEM-UT). The resulting pulsed generators draw on the energy stored kinetically in the rotor inertia to generate extremely high power levels for short periods of time. Two classes of pulsed generators have been developed at CEM-UT: homopolar generators (single pulse) and compensated pulsed alternators or compulsators (repetitively pulsed). The authors discuss the developments of these two types of pulsed generators at CEM-UT and their principles and applications