The EMET railgun projectile

The EMET projectile uses joule heating to accelerate the projectile in a railgun with a predominantly electrothermal driving force. The structure is designed to conduct armature current within a thin annular band around the shank of the large L/D dumbbell-shaped projectile. Current is initiated by a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE Transactions on Magnetics (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States) 1991-01, Vol.27 (1), p.527-532
Main Authors: Burton, R.L., Witherspoon, F.D., Goldstein, S.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
430100 - Particle Accelerators- Design, Development, & Operation
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700460 - Fusion Technology- Heating & Fueling Systems
ACCELERATION
ACCELERATORS
ARMATURES
CURRENT DENSITY
DATA
ELECTRIC HEATING
Electromagnetic forces
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
Electrothermal effects
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLUID FLOW
Fu
Fuels-
Fuses
HEATING
Impedance
INFORMATION
JOULE HEATING
NOZZLES
NUMERICAL DATA
PARTICLE ACCELERATORS
PLASMA
PLASMA ACCELERATION
Plasma confinement
PLASMA GUNS
PLASMA HEATING
PROJECTILES
RADIATIONS
RAILGUN ACCELERATORS
Railguns
RESISTANCE HEATING
SUPERSONIC FLOW
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
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Summary:The EMET projectile uses joule heating to accelerate the projectile in a railgun with a predominantly electrothermal driving force. The structure is designed to conduct armature current within a thin annular band around the shank of the large L/D dumbbell-shaped projectile. Current is initiated by a fuse located around the shank, and an impedance of 8 m Omega is achieved, compared to the 1-2 m Omega observed for electromagnetic (EM) guns. A supersonic nozzle in the projectile tail section expands and cools the armature plasma to raise its resistivity, prevent secondary arcs, and provide additional accelerating thrust. Experimental data are presented for 9.5 mm diameter, 5 gm projectiles, accelerated to nearly 600 m/s at 55 kA in a 0.9 m railgun. The armature remains confined in the projectile structure, and 75% of the acceleration is provided electrothermally. The calculated armature temperature is 3.0-3.5 eV, and significant rail burning is observed, consistent with the 5*10/sup 8/ A/m current density of the contained armature. It is concluded from a current density argument that the EMET projectile is best suited to small-bore gun applications.< >
ISSN:0018-9464
1941-0069
DOI:10.1109/20.101088