Multi-point, packed wire, and monolithic armatures

There are three types of nonarcing solid armatures that have been experimented with in railguns: multipoint armatures in which the faces of the armatures in sliding electrical contact with the rails consist of many more or less independent contact points or small patches; packed wire armatures in which the contact faces consist of very many packed wire ends; and monolithic armatures in which the armature presents a single solid face to each rail. All three of these armatures have been successful within certain limits and each has its own design philosophy. This paper presents the historical background to present solid armature work and the results of recent experiments using the first and third types in 25 mm square bore railguns.<>