First measurements of current distribution in moving fiber-armatures in railguns

Author

Wey, J. ; Lehmann, P. ; Charon, R. ; Eckenfels, D. ; Gauthier, C.

Author_Institution

French-German Res. Inst., Saint-Louis, France

Volume

35

Issue

1

fYear

1999

fDate

1/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

107

Lastpage

111

Abstract

Using miniaturized Rogowski coils developed at ISL, we are able to measure the currents flowing through moving metallic fiber-armatures in a railgun. The 15 mm square bore railgun is 0.5 m in length and is powered by a 150 kJ capacitor bank. The peak current is about 200 kA and typical launch velocities with this test bed reach 600 m/s. The armature consists of two fiber brushes made of the same metal (e.g. Cu-Cd) or two different metals (e.g. brass and Cu-Cd). The current distribution between the two brushes has been measured during the shot. A special voltage probe placed on one rail provides information about the rail resistance variation during projectile passage. A comparison between the experimental results and the current distribution calculated with a three dimensional finite element code, taking into account thermal effects, is presented

Keywords

brushes; capacitor storage; coils; current distribution; electric current measurement; electric resistance; finite element analysis; projectiles; railguns; 0.5 m; 15 mm; 150 kJ; 200 kA; 600 m/s; capacitor bank; current distribution measurement; fiber brushes; launch velocities; metallic fiber-armatures; miniaturized Rogowski coils; moving fiber-armatures; peak current; projectile passage; rail resistance variation; railguns; square bore railgun; thermal effects; three dimensional finite element code; voltage probe; Boring; Brushes; Capacitors; Coils; Current distribution; Current measurement; Electrical resistance measurement; Optical fiber testing; Railguns; Rails;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.738386

Filename

738386