| Abstract |
Autonomous vehicles, whether freely mobile, tracked, levitated or airborne, need electrical on-board power supplies for the various loads, either for auxiliary purposes, such as instrumentation and control, or for the main drive. Since electrochemical storage batteries are still unsatisfactory with regard to energy content, volume, weight and cost, there is continuous need for compact, light-weight on-board power supplies based on liquid or gaseous fuel. This problem is studied once more with a view towards a turbo-driven high-speed generator which is connected through a switched transistor converter to a DC-link buffered by a battery of reduced size. A directly coupled gas turbine, operating under optimal conditions with regard to fuel consumption and emissions, might eventually be used as a prime mover. This paper deals only with the electromechanical side of the scheme. Some experimental results are discussed in the paper. |
