Other

Westinghouse Electric Corporation

John W Wiss

Theodore R Vasilow

William R Wolfe

Owen S Taylor

Arthur L Wolfe

Joseph F Pierre

An apparatus for directly powering a unipolar electric motor with direct current (DC) power includes a control mechanism, and a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) having a fuel input and an oxidizer input. The control mechanism may control the fuel input and the oxidizer input. The fuel input may utilize a hydrocarbon fuel or, alternatively, an arbitrary mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The electric motor may have a field excitation current and the control mechanism may further control the field excitation current. Alternatively, an apparatus may power a vehicle, such as a ship or automobile, and may include an electric motor for powering the vehicle, a fuel cell for providing fuel cell power, a turbine-generator for providing turbine-generator power, and a control mechanism. The electric motor may include a motor power input. The fuel cell may include a fuel input, a fuel cell oxidizer input, a thermal exhaust output, and a fuel cell power output. The turbine-generator may include a compressor for pressurizing oxidizer, a generator for producing a generator power output, and a turbine for driving the compressor and the generator. The generator power output may supplement the fuel cell power output in order to produce power for the motor power input. The turbine may have a thermal exhaust input interconnected with the thermal exhaust output of the fuel cell. The compressor may have a compressor oxidizer input and an oxidizer output interconnected with the fuel cell oxidizer input. The control mechanism may control the fuel input, the compressor oxidizer input or the field excitation current.

Fuel cell powered propulsion system

An improved testing device for operating a wheeled automotive vehicle under power while it is standing still. This type of operation is desired in such endeavors as service diagnosis, measurement of exhaust emissions, and laboratory testing. In this device, power is absorbed by friction between the vehicle's driving wheels and a stationary portion of the testing device. Overheating of the tire is prevented by interposing a fluid such as water or air at the juncture of the tire and the power-absorber, or otherwise cooling the power-absorber surface. Vehicular traction load, or tractive effort, may be adjusted by adjusting the contact forces between the tire and the power-absorber. Vehicular tractive effort may be measured as the thrust force applied by the tire to the power-absorber. Speed may be measured from the motion of the driving wheel. Power may be computed automatically to provide a continuous presentation of speed and horsepower to the test operator. This testing device is sometimes called a vehicular dynamometer or chassis dynamometer. It possesses many of the characteristics of traction or drawbar dynamometers, except that the vehicle remains essentially stationary.

Testing device for wheeled automotive vehicles

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Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America

John W Wiss