Temperature estimates for a railgun plasma armature

Abstract

A free-flowing plasma in a railgun refers to a plasma which is not impeded by a projectile during a firing. One advantage in performing experiments with such plasmas is that spectroscopic measurements can be made when they are ejected. In this paper we analyse absorption and emission spectra of a free-flowing plasma for wavelengths between 300 and 625 nm in several firings. Calculations of the degree of ionization for the various species identified on the spectra are used to produce an estimate for the temperature of a free-flowing plasma in a RAPID railgun that lies between 11 × 103 and 25 × 103 K. This temperature range is reduced to 11 × 103 K by using a special computer code that predicts the thermochemical functions and transport coefficients of partially- and fully-ionized plasmas. The code is then used to develop temperature estimates of the plasma armature in railgun firings with projectiles. For these plasmas, which are expected to be denser than free-flowing plasmas, a temperature estimate of 14 × 103 K is obtained for a RAPID railgun firing at shot-out.