Advanced Eddy Current Braking Technology

There is a critical need for reliable, long life, low maintenance machinery for all DoD components, and underway aircraft carriers ops are among the most demanding, especially the 24/7 all-weather operations on the flight deck. The present C13 Aircraft Steam Catapult (ASC), with their water brake systems for deceleration of the catapult after aircraft launch, will be in active service over the next fifty years. While a key element in the catapult system, the brake is maintenance intensive and a major contributor to catapult downtime. A permanent magnet based eddy current braking system for catapult deceleration is proposed to replace the current water brake system. With no moving parts other than the eddy current armature which will be part of the catapult piston/barrel/spear assembly, the proposed system will require little or no maintenance, while eliminating the need for complex mechanical, high pressure steam, fluid or pneumatic system piping, valves and components. The resulting system will have improved brake system reliability, long life, with reduced manpower and maintenance costs can be achieved by using this technology to replace the existing water brake system.