Pulsed Energy Management Architectures
Abstract
There are two major top level controllers within the conceptual system example. The top levelpulsed power system controller and the weapons controls system. The pulsed power systemcontroller is responsible for configuring the modular blocks and communicating with theweapons controls system. The pulsed power system controller attempts to configure the systemto meets the needs communicated by the weapons control system while considering the currentpulsed power capabilities of the system. The power pulse timing lookup tables or other importantconfiguration information is stored within the pulsed power system controller. The pulsed powersystem controller is also responsible for monitoring and reconfiguring the shipboard powerdistribution. It ensures the turbines provide enough power for propulsion and other shipboardelectronics without being overburdened by the pulsed power system. The pulsed power systemcontroller regularly monitors the status and the energy available within the entire power system,and it reconfigures the system if a battery array needs to be charged or the shipboard powergeneration system is being overburdened. Next, the top level weapons controls system could be a modified version of AEGIS or acompletely new system that is capable of interacting with shipboard power and pulsed powersystems. This is important because the weapons control system knows which pulsed power loadis needed to accomplish the mission and how to use that load. However, it still needs to take intoconsideration of the capabilities of the pulsed power system, and only the pulsed power systemcontroller can reconfigure the system if an unconnected load is needed. The weapons controlssystem may be capable of automation to respond to the current scenario and can prioritize certainequipment over the other through the pulsed power system controller. It can also intelligentlyrequest a reconfiguration in situations where the previously requested hardware is unavailable.There are user interfaces for both top level controllers so that the crew can also prioritize certainpulsed power loads and receive information about the entire system manually.Every modular block has its own management controller, responsible for reporting the modularblock~s status and controlling the hardware within the modular block. For example, a pulsedpower load such as a laser should report its status to the pulsed power system controller, and itshould communicate targeting data and firing commands with the weapons control system. Theweapons control system may also receive other information such as position of objects from along range radar. However, the pulsed power system controller only uses telemetry to know howto configure the system while informing the weapons control system whether that pulsed powerload is available or not.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 03, 2017
- Source ID
- N000141712240
Entities
People
- Willem Odendaal
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Virginia Tech