Composites for improved armature performance

Author

Johnson, D.E. ; Barber, J.P. ; Miller, J.K.M.

Author_Institution

IAP Res. Inc., Dayton, OH, USA

Volume

25

Issue

1

fYear

1989

fDate

1/1/1989 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

262

Lastpage

265

Abstract

The use of advanced composites to improve the performance of a railgun armature is considered. The authors discuss the theoretical basis for material selection, review the materials options, and describe the composite of choice. It is shown that composite armatures can be developed that have a mass that is 15% or less of the total mass launched by a railgun. The composite with the best performance as an armature is beryllium-lithium. The toxicity of beryllium makes beryllium-lithium an expensive material to produce and use. It is concluded that aluminum-lithium armatures can be fabricated at a reasonable cost to demonstrate the potential of tailoring the electrothermal properties of metal armature materials

Keywords

composite materials; electromagnetic launchers; Al-Li; Be-Li; advanced composites; aluminum-lithium; beryllium-lithium; electrothermal properties; improved armature performance; metal armature materials; railgun armature; toxicity; Acceleration; Boring; Composite materials; Conducting materials; Inorganic materials; Plasma accelerators; Plasma applications; Plasma temperature; Railguns; Rails;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.22546

Filename

22546