Title :
Solid-Projectile Helical Coil Electromagnetic Launcher
Author :
Engel, T.G. ; Neri, J.M. ; Veracka, M.J.
Author_Institution :
Missouri Univ., Columbia
Abstract :
Summary form only given. Helical coil electromagnetic launchers (HCEML´s) can operate at significantly lower currents and higher efficiency in comparison to conventional railgun and induction coilgun launchers. The HCEML´s versatility is due, in part, to its large inductance gradient which is typically 2 to 3 orders of magnitude greater than a conventional railgun and can be tailored to almost any value in that range. The University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) has focused on the development of a low current, high efficiency launcher for low to medium velocity applications. To this end, MU has demonstrated a 40 mm bore x 750 mm length HCEML´s to launch -500 gram projectiles to 150 m/s operating at 12 to 15 kApeak currents, 400 to 800 V peak voltages, and measured efficiencies as high as 32%. While this particular HCEML used hollow-projectiles, present research efforts at MU are focused on the development of a solid-projectile HCEML. This presentation describes a 40 mm bore x 300 mm length and a 40 mm bore x 750 mm length solid projectile HCEML. The goal of this research is to demonstrate the hollow-projectile HCEML concept and to experimentally measure its performance, relative to the hollow-projectile HCEML.
Keywords :
railguns; Helical coil electromagnetic launchers; electromagnetic launcher; induction coilgun launchers; railgun; Boring; Coilguns; Coils; Current measurement; Electromagnetic induction; Electromagnetic launching; Inductance; Projectiles; Railguns; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Plasma Science, 2007. ICOPS 2007. IEEE 34th International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Albuquerque, NM
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-0915-0
DOI :
10.1109/PPPS.2007.4346319