Analysis of the launching performance under melting restriction for electromagnetic launcher

Electromagnetic launcher based on it hypervelocity projectile of the cannonball has a bright application prospect in military. In this paper, an optimization of the structure of the armature and rails based on velocity skin effect (VSE) and the Short Path Priority (SPP) has been performed by means of the current density distribution of electromagnetic launcher model stimulated by software Maxwell 14.0. Moreover, a finite element method through Impedance matrix is applied to calculate the the inductance gradient of rails. According to this value and the theory of electromagnetic launcher, the theoretical muzzle velocity of projectile and acceleration distance with different load conditions are analyzed. It also finds that there is inversely - proportional relationship between the muzzle velocity and the mass of the projectile with no consideration of frictional force between the armature and rails. These results have reference significance for analysis of electromagnetic launcher about its best performance and the prospect on military application.