Process-Based Assessment and Training Support Tools

Not Available In a highly attractive development, the U.S. Navy has been developing compact, heavy duty motors based on magneto-mechanical systems using metastable alloys(such as magnetostrictive or magnetic shape memory). However, a major obstacle to transferring these advances to practical systems for vertical and horizontal motion of deck systems such as bay doors, helicopters and stores has been clearly identified as the electronics. The fundamental operation of magneto-mechanical system mandates high energization at fast slew rates. The present use of linear power electronics is not capable of meeting specifications and incurs prohibitively large weight and power penalties for almost all ship deck applications such as machinery isolation or valve control that require the unique ability of magneto-mechanical systems to achieve actuation authority not available in ferroelectric mechanisms and devices. The goal of the project is to provide a full solution design of a compact and lightweight system capable of replacing heavy maintenance and power intensive hydraulic systems for ship deck operations. The proposed system introduces advances in switching topologies, components and subsystem designs for inductive loads as to minimize the weight and power costs.