Energy reclaim control of an air-core pulsed alternator

Air-core pulsed alternators have been under development for over 30 years, although a lot of progress has been made, there are still some problems to be solved before it comes to eventual deployment in mobile applications. One of the problems is the thermal management. The pulsed alternator stator thermal management has been studied for more than 25 years. However, there is little literature about the energy reclaim control specifics, such as the control strategy of the reclaim process, and what are the factors affect the reclaim process. This paper presents an energy reclaim control strategy of the air-core pulsed alternator. Under some assumptions, the optimal trigger angle was calculated, which can reclaim the electromagnetic energy stored in the field winding as quickly as possible. The energy reclaim control of the air-core pulsed alternator can reduce the rotor heat generation. Therefore, it allows the use of the air-core pulsed alternators beyond basic laboratory shot numbers. Because the heat loss is reduced, the reclaim control strategy can also improve the efficiency of the whole system. The analyses of the design parameters affecting reclaim efficiency were made and some conclusions which can offer guidance for the design and optimization of air-core pulsed-alternator systems were reached.