Design of a drive system for a rotating arm

THE SELECTION and preliminary design of a drive system for a unique test facility called a "rotating arm" was carried on simultaneously with the structural and mechanical designs. This rotating arm is required for directional-stability and maneuverability studies of high-speed submarines and surface ships. Large-scale models will be towed in circular paths with radii ranging from 12 1/2 feet to 120 feet and at submergence levels of as much as 10 feet. Final detail design of the electric machinery and control circuitry is contingent upon the results of exceedingly painstaking analog computer studies now partially completed. These studies are required of the manufacturer as proof of the adequacy of the machinery and its associated control circuitry for the intended application.