V. ELECTRIC PROPULSION TEST BEDS Five active test beds are in existence in DOD, in an effort to obtain "proof-of-pudding" hardware and instrumented operating experience, essentially, the process of gathering theoretical and design knowledge of propulsion systems and to correlate it with hardware test data. The longrange aim is to establish component and systems design procedures and processes which will enable specification of equipment which will meet required performance parameters. A FIGURE 21 shows a picture of the M-113 tracked vehicle test bed. gasoline engine-generator power supply is used. The ac output from the generator is fed to ac motor-gear units through logic controlled, dc link converters. Dynamic braking is provided and steering is accomplished through proper speed control of each track's drive motor. The fact sheet for this vehicle is shown on FIGURE 22. FIGURE 23 shows a view of the (BEST) vehicle. FIGURE 24 shows an artist's concept and the fact sheet of the Best vehicle converted to an ultra high speed (UHS) test bed vehicle. This vehicle has a turbinegenerator ac power source, uses four cycloconverters, one per wheel, to feed the squirrel-cage wheel motors, features power and velocity control as well as a precise power outlet for electrical loads, has electrical steering assist and dynamic braking. Checkout tests on this test bed are under way. FIGURE 25 shows a view of the 22-ton UHS vehicle as constructed and ready for evaluation. This is a sectionalized unit, the center section is an instrumented test compartment (normally a scraper) and will be utilized to obtain transient and steady state operating test data. |