Dynamic bore/interaction effects on metal armature performance [railguns]

It is pointed out that metal armatures must be designed to accommodate dynamic bore-armature interaction under electromagnetic loading. High forces must be maintained to ensure low-voltage, nonarcing metal-to-metal contacts. This contact force must be maintained despite relative rail and armature motion. The authors have measured railgun barrel and armature dynamic motion and contact forces, due to electromagnetic loading. They have measured rail motion when subjected to electromagnetic loading, for several different barrel designs using laser interferometric techniques. They have also determined armature contact forces from in situ measurements using load cells. They describe the experiments, and results, and their assessment of the design requirements imposed by these data