Composites for improved armature performance

The use of advanced composites to improve the performance of a railgun armature is considered. The authors discuss the theoretical basis for material selection, review the materials options, and describe the composite of choice. It is shown that composite armatures can be developed that have a mass that is 15% or less of the total mass launched by a railgun. The composite with the best performance as an armature is beryllium-lithium. The toxicity of beryllium makes beryllium-lithium an expensive material to produce and use. It is concluded that aluminum-lithium armatures can be fabricated at a reasonable cost to demonstrate the potential of tailoring the electrothermal properties of metal armature materials