Small-bore hypervelocity electromagnetic launcher research facility

A small-bore hypervelocity electromagnetic launcher laboratory research facility was developed. A 2 g projectile was launched to a velocity in excess of 3.5 km/s. This turn-key laboratory includes a 1 cm, square-bore railgun with a helium-gas preaccelerator; a modular 328 kJ capacitor bank; a fiber-optically linked programmable logic controller (PLC)-based control system with a graphical operator interface; a computer-automated measurement and control (CAMAC)-based data acquisition system with current, magnetic, and projectile position diagnostics; and a flight range which provides in-flight velocity measurements and safely stops, and contains the projectile. The control system is designed to fire the preaccelerator and, upon receipt of an optical trigger signal, fire the capacitor bank modules simultaneously or in a staggered mode. During initial testing, armature separation and stalling were observed which limited the overall performance of the system. Changes in pulse shape and bore materials significantly improved the performance of the system