Development of Magnetic Pulsed Launcher System using Capacitor Banks

Recent researches on magnetic launcher is rapidly on the rise due to the demand for smooth projectile launching system. A magnetic pulsed launcher (MPL) system is a method for launching a projectile in a smooth linear motion. It applies the basic theories of electromagnetism and circuit theory. This MPL system is basically divided into two categories, one using a coil launcher and the other an induction launcher. In this paper, a small scale MPL system is developed based on the coil launcher technology. A small capacitor (330 muF, 400 V) and a single coil (16 mH) are used in the design whereas the reviewed paper uses a big capacitor and multiple coils. Experiments and simulations have been done to compare and study the relationship between voltage, capacitance, and projectile initial position for optimization of the system. An algorithm is designed based on the experimental data and it is used to optimize the MPL efficiency by changing the value of voltage, capacitance, and projectile position. The MPL have a highest efficiency of 10.05% at 1 cm projectile position when it is supplied with 286 muF, 680.2 V capacitor banks for horizontal motion while 2.55% for vertical motion. The projectile have a highest speed of 23.07 ms^-1 for horizontal motion while 11.62 ms^-1 for vertical motion.