DTRC laboratory electromagnetic accelerator system design, modeling and simulation

The authors describe the development of an analytical model which was used to simulate and aid in the design of a coaxial accelerator. The model is based on a variable set of differential equations that represent the electromagnetics of the system coupled with the mechanical equations of motion. It is concluded that this approach in modeling results in excellent accuracy, is numerically efficient and stable, and can be run on a desk top computer. The resultant design was used to build a full-scale laboratory model which was instrumented and tested. Some results from the actual device are included for comparison with the simulation results