Design & fabrication of an advanced, lightweight, high stiffness, railgun barrel concept

The integrated thermal, electrical, and structural (static and dynamic) analysis performed on several candidate barrel configurations have led to an electromagnetic launcher (EML) design that satisfies the ARDEC (US Army Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center)/DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) design goals. An advanced lightweight, high-stiffness, easily maintained, 9-15 MJ launcher has been designed, and its fabrication is nearing completion. A 1 m prototype using all the full-scale components, except for a shorter barrel length, is currently under test validation. The design features of the barrel show that utilization of high modulus materials, application of optimal barrel geometry, and application of active prestressing provides a barrel with high stiffness and utility