A feasibility study for a Fragment-Producing Chemical-Electrical Launcher

The Fragment-Producing Chemical-Electrical Launcher (FP-CEL) project investigated the use of explosively driven magnetic loading techniques to launch controlled fragments in a predictable manner. A conventional fragmenting warhead uses high-explosive detonation products to throw fragments directly for various applications; however, greater control is desired to enhance kinetic-energy lethality mechanisms, and to lower collateral effects associated with storage and usage. To establish the feasibility of such an FP-CEL system, we conducted small-scale experiments using a capacitor-driven ramp-wave generator to accelerate flyers and fragments to velocities of 2 to 3 km/s, and analyzed the data with a multi-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic computer code. An FP-CEL uses an explosive first stage, that is a flux-compression generator (or FCG), that would have similar electrical output to the capacitor-based approach. Such a two-stage system would have a significantly reduced total efficiency, therefore, in addition to overall feasibility, the present effort examined issues of system efficiency, as well as how to scale to operational capabilities. The work emphasized the study of the basic physics of the launching phenomena, while considering existing FCG technology as a prime power source.