Current Distribution Measurements in Rail Launcher Multibrush Armatures During Launch

Abstract

The problem of measuring current distribution in multiple-brush armatures for electromagnetic rail launchers is reapproached here to study the dynamic measurement during armature motion on a two-brush armature. The measurement method is based on an array of loops magnetically coupled to the brushes, placed along the rails. From the theoretical point of view, the measured voltages on all the loops should make possible to reconstruct the current distribution between the brushes as a function of time and armature position. This has been experimentally verified on a launcher prototype.