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Performance of a self-augmented railgun

1991; American Institute of Physics; Volume: 70; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1063/1.349199

1520-8850

Rodney Burton, F. Douglas Witherspoon, Shyke A. Goldstein,

Pulsed Power Technology Applications

The accelerating force of a railgun 1/2L′I2a can be increased by augmenting the self-induced magnetic field created by the armature current. Augmentation fields can be produced by external current coils or, as is done here, by shorting the railgun muzzle, and using the gun rails as the augmentation coil. Experimental results are presented for a 3.6-m railgun operated in this self-augmented mode, and effective inductance gradients are achieved which are as much as 9.3 times that of the unaugmented gun. A circuit model is presented which explains features of the measured shunt current and voltage. It is concluded that self-augmentation is an effective way to reduce ohmic heating in the armature of a railgun.