Experimental results from CEM-UT´s single shot 9 MJ railgun

Author

Hayes, R.J. ; Zowarka, R.C., Jr.

Author_Institution

Center for Electromech., Texas Univ., Austin, TX, USA

Volume

27

Issue

1

fYear

1991

fDate

1/1/1991 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

33

Lastpage

38

Abstract

A 10-m-long, 90-mm bore railgun has been designed and fabricated. During the test program, a number of solid armatures and projectile packages have been tested in a 50-m-deep vertical test range. The experiments are powered by six homopolar generator (HPG) charged inductive stores, sequentially staged to provide the desired acceleration profile. Prior to testing, computer simulations are run to determine the preferred current profile and predict system performance. During projectile flight, high-speed films, X-rays, muzzle volts, and velocity/acceleration profiles are recorded along with power supply operating parameters. Postshot diagnostics include bore wear analysis and armature and target recovery. Comparisons of predicted and recorded shot performance are also made. On selected tests, an energy balance is performed to determine efficiencies of the various components. A summary of all 90-mm gun shots is presented along the critical data collected from selected tests

Keywords

capacitor storage; electromagnetic launchers; 9 MJ; 90 mm; CEM-UT; Centre for Electromechanics; University of Texas; acceleration profile; bore wear analysis; charged inductive stores; computer simulations; current profile; homopolar generator; muzzle volts; power supply operating parameters; predicted shot performance; projectile flight; projectile packages; recorded shot performance; solid armatures; target recovery; Acceleration; Boring; Computer simulation; Packaging; Power generation; Projectiles; Railguns; Solids; System performance; System testing;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.100989

Filename

100989