Structural consequences of railgun augmentation

There are structural consequences to railgun augmentation which must be overcome before the advantages of lower plasma arc currents can be realized. To investigate these consequences, a bolted V-block supporting structure is considered with two cores: unaugmented (a single pair of conducting rails) and augmented (conducting rails augmented by a second tandem set of conductors). The mechanical load on the cores consists of the static bolt preload, the plasma pressure behind the projectile, and the magnetic pressure induced by currents flowing in the rails of the augmenting conductors. The maximum rail current is found at which the unaugmented railgun can be repetitively fired without detrimental gaps forming at the bore. For the augmented railgun at the same projectile acceleration, large permanent deformations can occur. Thus, successful implementation of railgun augmentation will require improvement of the supporting structure