EM gun bore life experiments at the Naval Research Laboratory

Author

Meger, R.A. ; Cairns, R. ; Douglass, S. ; Huhman, B. ; Neri, J. ; Jones, H. ; Cooper, K. ; Feng, J. ; Brintlinger, T. ; Sprague, J. ; Michopoulos, J. ; Young, M. ; DeGiorgi, V. ; Leung, A. ; Baucom, J. ; Wimmer, S.

Author_Institution

Plasma Phys. Div., Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC, USA

fYear

2012

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

6

Abstract

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) performs basic and applied research on high power railguns as part of the US Navy EM Launcher program. The understanding of damage mechanisms as a function of armature and barrel materials, launch parameters, and bore geometry is of primary interest to the development of a viable high power railgun. Research is performed on a 6-m, 1.5 MJ railgun located at NRL. Barrel studies utilize in situ diagnostics coupled with detailed ex situ analysis of rail materials to provide clues to the conditions present during launch. Results are compared with coupled 3-D electromagnetic and mechanical Finite Element Analysis (FEA) models of railgun operation. Results of several experiments on rail wear will be discussed.

Keywords

electromagnetic launchers; finite element analysis; naval engineering; rails; wear; EM gun bore life experiments; FEA models; NRL; Naval Research Laboratory; US Navy EM Launcher program; armature; barrel materials; bore geometry; coupled 3D electromagnetic models; high power railguns; launch parameters; mechanical finite element analysis; rail materials; rail wear; Aluminum; Armature; Fasteners; Railguns; Rails; Steel; Surface treatment;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Electromagnetic Launch Technology (EML), 2012 16th International Symposium on

Conference_Location

Beijing

Print_ISBN

978-1-4673-0306-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/EML.2012.6325173

Filename

6325173