A 4.5-MJ pulsed power supply for railgun experiments

Author

Del Guercio, M.

Author_Institution

U.S. Army Res. Lab., Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, USA

Volume

39

Issue

1

fYear

2003

Firstpage

280

Lastpage

284

Abstract

A 4.5-MJ capacitor-based pulsed power supply (PPS) has been installed at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, for railgun operations. The system consists of 18 independent modules, each with an energy capacity of 250 kJ. Half of the modules were modified from their original condition to a pulse-forming inductance of approximately 24 /spl mu/H, while the remainder maintained their original 60-/spl mu/H inductance. Another modification included a pneumatic-operated shorting system added to enhance the safety of the system. Simulations were conducted for a variety of load conditions using a Spice-based code. Predicted currents and velocities are in reasonable agreement with measured quantities. The complete system allows the electromagnetic launch of hypervelocity launch packages to a downrange distance of 4 km.

Keywords

capacitor storage; pulsed power supplies; railguns; 250 kJ; 4 km; 4.5 MJ; Spice-based code; capacitor-based pulsed power supply; currents; downrange distance; electromagnetic launch; energy capacity; hypervelocity launch packages; independent modules; pneumatic-operated shorting system; pulse-forming inductance; railgun experiments; safety enhancement; simulations; velocities; Current measurement; Electromagnetic launching; Electromagnetic measurements; Inductance; Laboratories; Packaging; Pulsed power supplies; Railguns; Safety; Velocity measurement;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TMAG.2002.805926

Filename

1179823