Low-Voltage Platform Powers US Army's Fuel Efficient Ground Vehicle Demonstrator (FED)

June 1, 2011

Kollmorgen has released an in-line variant of its lightweight, low voltage Power Generation System, which will be used by the United States Army to deliver onboard vehicle power (OBVP) generation to the military’s Fuel-Efficient Ground Vehicle Demonstrator (FED). The Kollmorgen system enables the FED Alpha vehicle to provide 30 kW of power at 28 VDC, over a wide engine operating band.

Kollmorgen’s new power platform has reduced the weight of the TARDEC FED ALPHA vehicle by approximately 150 lbs, according to the director of Kollmorgenís Vehicle Electric Power Business Unit.

The Kollmorgen power generation platform generates the power needed to support the tactical demands of today’s military vehicles from a low voltage system. “It has reduced the weight of the TARDEC FED ALPHA vehicle by approximately 150 lbs. when compared with high voltage power generation systems,” said Brandon Edlefsen, Director of Kollmorgen’s Vehicle Electric Power Business Unit.

The FED Alpha is the first of two vehicle projects that the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) is developing to showcase fuel efficient technologies that also maintain tactical vehicle capability equivalent to an up-armored high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV). Maximizing fuel efficiency not only saves the Army money in direct fuel costs, but it can also. help save soldiers lives by reducing the frequency of driving fuel convoys into highly targeted combat locations.

Kollmorgen’s low-voltage power generation platform consists of flexible power electronics that support multiple generator configurations and mild hybrid capability. The generator system used in the FED vehicle is an inline ISG 28 VDC, 30 kW liquid-cooled generator with three 10 kW air-cooled power electronics modules, which communicate on J1939 software protocol. The low-voltage platform also includes a belt driven air-cooled generator that produces 30 kW at 28 VDC, utilizing the same controllers as the ISG system.

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