9 MJ Range Gun Compulsator Stator Design and Fabrication

The authors provide a summary of the structural analysis of the compulsator stator as well as a detailed description of the major stator components. Fabrication and assembly techniques are also presented, along with the current status of the project. The range gun compulsator is a self-excited, air-cored alternator designed to provide pulsed power in a field portable electromagnetic launch system capable of accelerating a salvo of nine projectiles to a muzzle energy of 9 MJ at velocities ranging from 2.5 to 4.0 km/s. The compulsator is designed to deliver 3.2 MA current pulses to a railgun launcher at a peak power rating of 10 GW. The stator consists of a multiturn compensating winding with a laminated stainless steel support structure, an aluminum excitation field coil and support structure, a stainless steel stator casing and main end plates, hydrostatic bearings, seals, and support pedestals, and current collection mechanisms for the field excitation and main armature circuits