Induction Launcher Design Considerations

Abstract

Research, prompted by increased interest in induction accelerators for space and for military applications has shown that their advantages (contactless armature, high theoretical efficiency) with respect to their railgun counter parts are balanced by strong requirements on their power supply characteristics. In fact at each moment, the stator barrel, the projectile and the power supply mst form a carefully tuned system, capable of achieving a uniform and efficient electromechanical energy conversion with no contacts or feedback control.