Electromagnetic projectiles launch system

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Electromagnetic projectiles launch system

Ushakov, V.Y. / Sivkov, A.A.

This paper considers a conception of synchronous usage of basic mechanisms of transforming electromagnetic energy into kinetic one of a projectile. The conception is realised basing on the simplest configuration of a coaxial magneto-plasmatic accelerator with a high-current discharge of Z-pinch type. Simultaneous usage of electroexplosive and electrothermal mechanisms, conductive and inductive electrodynamics allowed to obtain high kinetic and specific parameters. Experimental research of the barrel length influence allowed to establish existence of an 'active' length at which the system works according to the law close to speeding up the projectile with constant acceleration. The 'active' length of the pincher barrel is equal to the length of the continuous plasmicerosive track on the surface of the acceleraton channel and it exceeds the length of the solenoid inductor by 250 mm. At the barrel length of 340 mm and the calibre of 17 mm, the polyethylene and lexan projectiles having the mass from 1.0 g to 12.0 g are sped up to the velocities from 3.4 km/s to 1.45 km/s, espectively, with the constant efficiency of 25 +- 5 %. The discharge current did not exceed 150 kA. When launching heavy projecties having the mass from 40.2 to 80 g, with the calibre of 25 mm and with the discharge current not more than 250 kA, the velocities from 1.3 km/s to 1.0 km/s with the efficiency from 28 % to 19 % were obtained.