Design considerations for compulsator driven railguns

The authors review a system model of a compulsator based power system for rapid fire railgun applications. The system performance characteristics are reviewed, and the optimization of the system subject to the constraints imposed by the prime mover and the load is discussed. In particular, if a gas turbine mover is used, then the system must be designed so as to limit the peak deceleration of the power turbine. This can be achieved either by the use of a high system inertia or by incorporating a slipping clutch into the drive train. It has been shown that the compulsator can be directly matched to a railgun load. The choice of operating speed and stored energy represents a compromise between obtaining a high efficiency and reducing the mechanical loads during a pulse