Research on Transient Contact Characteristics of the Hyperbolic Rail Augmented Quadrupole Launcher

Abstract

The contact surface between the armature and rails of a railgun system is unique for its high-speed sliding and current conduction, which greatly affects the performance of the launcher. In order to study the armature–rail contact characteristics of the electromagnetic railgun, this article simulates the initial contact characteristics, the conducting contact characteristics, the electromagnetic characteristics, and the temperature closely coupled to the contact characteristics based on a hyperbolic rail augmented launcher model. The influencing factors of the contact characteristics are analyzed and compared with the nonaugmented railgun with the same structural configuration, and the evaluation indices of the contact characteristics are established. The research results show that the contact characteristics of the railgun are affected by the electromagnetic force, which changes rapidly with time, which in turn affects the electromagnetic and temperature characteristics of the railgun. This launcher structure can maintain good contact conditions during launching. This study is a preliminary exploration of the contact characteristics of the hyperbolic rail augmented quadrupole launcher, making an improvement to its structural design.