Open Access

Richard A. Zahoransky, Marcus Geimer, Peter Dengler

• Auxiliary power units (APUs) are used in mobile applications to supply electrical power in the range of 3 to 10 kW. The state of the art generators are driven by a diesel engine at constant speed. They have a low efficiency (high fuel consumption) as they operate mostly in partial load conditions. A higher efficiency for partial loads is feasible by adjusting the speed of the diesel engine to itsAuxiliary power units (APUs) are used in mobile applications to supply electrical power in the range of 3 to 10 kW. The state of the art generators are driven by a diesel engine at constant speed. They have a low efficiency (high fuel consumption) as they operate mostly in partial load conditions. A higher efficiency for partial loads is feasible by adjusting the speed of the diesel engine to its optimum efficiency. A frequency converter provides a constant electric frequency at variable speed of the generator. The resulting higher investments for such a variable speed generator (VSG) need a proof of economics, which is demonstrated by this investigation.…