Experimental determination of square bore and parallel configuration EML rail inductance per unit length

A method to determine the inductance gradient, L´, for railguns from the measured current, measured mass of the projectile, and the in-bore projectile position taken from the B-dot coils is described. The procedure fits the measured position data to a derived function using the method of least squares. The procedure was used on several shots for two configurations of railguns, the square-bore and the parallel-configuration railgun (parallel gun). The values of L´ obtained were within a few percent of the calculated values