Analysis of the magnetic field distribution in an homopolar generator as a pulse power source of electromagnetic launchers

A circuit-method approach is presented for evaluating the distribution of the current density and the magnetic field following a sudden short circuit in a homopolar generator. The method is applied to analyze the transient armature reaction in a counterrotating homopolar generator placed in a high magnetic field. The machine is divided into a finite number of volume elements, the centers of which are linked to produce a three-dimensional mesh. The branches of the mesh are characterized, like circuit branches, by resistors, capacitors, inductors, magnetic couplings, and independent voltage generators. The symmetries of the machine are used to obtain a reduced two-dimensional plane net. The behavior of the net can be analyzed by conventional analytical or numerical methods