Simulation of a Two-Turn Railgun and Comparison Between a Conventional Railgun and a Two-Turn Railgun by 3-D FEM

The use of a multiturn railgun is a method for decreasing the current without reducing the electromagnetic force on the projectile. The objective of this paper is to study a novel multiturn railgun that can launch several separated projectiles launching synchronously or asynchronously. In addition to distributing the force on the projectiles, this method prepares the projectiles to be launched in time. The railgun has two barrels stacked in series and is powered by one pulse power supply. In this paper, by using a finite-element method, we simulate a 3-D railgun. The projectiles are in different positions. It is investigated by obtaining the self-inductance gradient and mutual inductance gradient for each position of armatures by which time of launch can be regulated through changing the configuration of the launcher. In addition, we explore how the launching time is directly proportional to the propulsive force, their relation and its limitation by the rails and armatures geometry, armatures initial positions, and armatures mass and material. Finally, with simulation results, we conclude that a two-turn railgun has a higher effective inductance gradient than a simple railgun.