Focus toward advanced mobile tactical configurations for railgun power supplies has resulted in the evolution of five compulsator generations in the past 15 years. Unfortunately, the rapid maturation of the technology has tended to dilute the relative importance and application base of previous generations. Technical variance between generations has been significant, including air-core or iron-core, rotating armature or field, single-or multiphase, solid rotor or shell, and externally excited or self-excited. It is useful, therefore, to review and classify the important distinctions between the generations of machines, thus allowing proper selection of the one best suited for a given application. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of compulsators developed at The University of Texas at Austin Center for Electromechanics. Features of past and present configurations are discussed, such as machine topology, method of excitation, basic switching methods, discharge pulse shapes, and potential energy and power densities. A list of potential applications is generated for all disciplines within the armed forces. This information is used to create an application guide that can be used to select appropriate compulsator options for the mission given. An extensive list of references is also provided.
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