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A Hydraulic Motor-Alternator System for Ocean-Submersible VehiclesAn ocean-submersible vehicle has been developed at JPL that moves back and forth between sea level and a depth of a few hundred meters. A liquid volumetric change at a pressure of 70 bars is created by means of thermal phase change. During vehicle ascent, the phase-change material (PCM) is melted by the circulation of warm water and thus pressure is increased. During vehicle descent, the PCM is cooled resulting in reduced pressure. This pressure change is used to generate electric power by means of a hydraulic pump that drives a permanent magnet (PM) alternator. The output energy of the alternator is stored in a rechargeable battery that powers an on-board computer, instrumentation and other peripherals.The focus of this paper is the performance evaluation of a specific hydraulic motor-alternator system. Experimental and theoretical efficiency data of the hydraulic motor and the alternator are presented. The results are used to evaluate the optimization of the hydraulic motor-alternator system. The integrated submersible vehicle was successfully operated in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. A brief overview of the actual test results is presented.
Document ID
20130010674
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Aintablian, Harry O.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Valdez, Thomas I.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Jones, Jack A.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 27, 2013
Publication Date
July 30, 2012
Subject Category
Electronics And Electrical Engineering
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA-IEEE International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference
Location: Atlanta, GA
Country: United States
Start Date: July 30, 2012
End Date: August 1, 2012
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
alternator
power
hydraulic motor

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