Plasma Armature Railgun Launcher Simulations
| dc.creator | Weeks, D.A. | en |
| dc.creator | Weldon, W.F | en |
| dc.creator | Zowarka, Jr, R.C. | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-02-09T22:04:28Z | en |
| dc.date.available | 2016-02-09T22:04:28Z | en |
| dc.date.issued | 1987-12 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | The Center for Electromechanics at the University of Texas (CEM- UT) at Austin has developed a velocity dependent friction model which accurately predicts the losses associated with a plasma armature railgun while performing research associated with several Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contracts. Test results from CEM-UT's 1 m long, 1.27 cm square bore, plasma-armature railgun have been used to determine the validity of the model. Deviation between calculated and measured performance is typically less than 5% at railgun currents below 500 kA, however, at currents greater than 500 kA, the deviation increases. Experimental evidence suggests that the rail gun' s lack of stiffness and subsequent venting of driving pressure rather than the electromechanical model is primarily responsible for the divergence between predicted and measured results. To test this theory a railgun was built using external preloading rings (Ringfeder®) to increase its stiffness. On the first test of the Ringfeder® railgun, 700 kA was discharged into the gun and the projectile was accelerated to 5.9 km/s. Test data indicates that the projectile accelerated through the entire length of the railgun and that a minimum amount of plasma leakage had occurred during the test. An analysis of the 700-kA test was done to compare the results of CEM-UT's frictional loss model to ablation and viscous drag loss models. | en |
| dc.description.department | Center for Electromechanics | en |
| dc.identifier | PN_121 | en |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.15781/T21D41 | en |
| dc.identifier.citation | D.A. Weeks, W.F. Weldon, and R.C. Zowarka, Jr., “Plasma armature railgun launcher simulations,” IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, vol. 17, no. 3, June 1989, pp. 403-408. | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2152/32958 | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.relation.ispartof | CEM Publications | en |
| dc.rights.restriction | open | en |
| dc.subject | Rotating Machine EM Launch | en |
| dc.subject | armature | en |
| dc.subject | em gun | en |
| dc.subject | em railgun | en |
| dc.title | Plasma Armature Railgun Launcher Simulations | en |
| dc.type | conference paper | en |
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