The Modular Augmented Staged Electromagnetic Launcher Operated in the Energy Storage Mode

Abstract

Railguns use electrical energy to accelerate projectiles to large velocities. The electrical energy for the launching process is provided by a pulsed power unit. A pulsed power unit usually consists of a capacitor, a switching device, a crowbar diode, and a pulse-forming inductance. The pulse-forming inductance is necessary to generate an appropriate current pulselength and amplitude. The idea of the energy storage augmented electromagnetic launcher is to use the magnetic field produced by the pulse-forming inductance to augment the magnetic field between the rails of the launcher. To maximize the augmentation of the magnetic field, it is necessary to place the pulse-forming inductance as close as possible to the rails of the railgun. The additional magnetic field causes not only an increased acceleration of the projectile but also a larger mechanical load of the railgun structure. This requires a reinforced housing compared with conventional railgun housings. In this paper, the design and the experimental setup of a railgun using an energy storage augmentation scheme as well as the results of experiments are presented. The results are compared with the previous results of a nonaugmented railgun configuration. The comparison shows an improvement of the energy efficiency.