Experimental Results from a Physical Scale Model Alternator Pair as a Pulsed Power

The Institute for Advanced Technology is using a pair of physical scale model alternators as counter-rotating pulsed alternator simulators. These alternators have similar but not identical electrical characteristics. The original goal was to use these alternators to simulate a two-machine pulsed alternator system to study thyristor converter operation, with the two machines electrically connected at the output (dc side) of the thyristor (SCR) converter. Additional experiments were also run with the two alternators electrically connected at the input (ac side) of the thyristor converter. In the experiments, control algorithms were developed to test self-excitation and to discharge pulsed energy into various types of loads-resistive, inductive, and capacitive-to evaluate energy sharing from each alternator. Negative resistance circuits were implemented to adjust the field winding time constant of each alternator to achieve correct resistance/reactance ratio of full-scale pulsed alternators and to achieve equal energy discharge from each alternator