Development of Solid and/or Liquid-Metal Collectors for Acyclic Machines.
Abstract:
The report describes the work completed in the final phase of a program to develop liquid metal current collectors for use in high-power-capacity acyclic machinery having superconductive field windings. The development of a high-performance liquid-metal collector configuration for operation in high-intensity ambient magnetic fields is discussed. The influence of various design alternatives on collector performance is considered and a collector configuration is specified for further study in an experimental program. The results of a test program confirming the performance characteristics predicted in the theoretical studies is described. The development of liquid-metal collector systems for use in superconductive acyclic machines having multiple-disk rotor arrangements is presented. The characteristics of multiple-disk acyclic machines are reviewed and design factors for high-power-capacity machinery are developed. The results of tests on a 150-kilowatt generator are presented. The experiments correlated well with theoretical predictions, and the results of this program will permit the development of large superconductive direct-current machines with efficiencies of over 96 percent. AUTHOR