Optimization of the Current Control for the Pulsed Power Cables of the Electromagnetic Railgun

Abstract

The current control of the breech pulsed power cables and the stability of the total current are important factors which have an influence on the performance of the electromagnetic railgun system. In order to achieve these two targets, a two-objective optimization model through the genetic algorithms and weighted combination method is established. An optimization example of 20-mm railgun with 1-MJ fixed energy storage is given. The results show that the methods can be satisfied to the optimization design under the following premises. The reference value for the mean square error of the pulsed power cable peak current which represents the degree of the current control is selected between 1.5 and 4 kA, and the reference value of the compression ratio which represents the stability of the total current depends on the average compression ratio of the initial population. The mean square deviation of the best individual can be reduced to 600–750 A, and the compression ratio can be increased to 0.64–0.68 when the peak value of the total current is limited between 500 and 560 kA.