Analysis of Transient Current Distribution in Copper Strips of Different Structures for Electromagnetic Railgun

A railgun is a kind of new-concept kinetic energy weapon. To overcome the local aggregation of the high pulse current on the surface of the railgun conductor, a method was introduced to abate the skin effect. On the basis of theoretical analysis, three kinds of methods were adopted to increase the current uniformity coefficient. Then, the copper strips, whose thicknesses were 40, 20, 15, and 10 mm, respectively, were simulated with a typical half-period sine waveform that had a 10-ms pulsewidth and a 2-MA peak current. The best current uniformity coefficient in the copper strips is more than 83%. Three conclusions are drawn in this paper. First, under the same conditions, the current distribution will become more uniform as the copper strips become thinner. Second, the current distribution can be improved to a certain extent by rounding strip edges. Third, the added tungsten sheaths or iron sheaths on both sides of the copper strips can further improve the current distribution. The results of this paper have great significance for improving the pulse current-carrying capability of the railgun conductors.