The Culham Laboratory hypervelocity test facility

Culham Laboratory has designed and constructed a hypervelocity test facility (HTF) using electromagnetic launcher technology. Aimed at launching projectiles of approximately 1 gm to a velocity approaching 15 km/s, the facility is configured around an existing 1.1-MJ, 8-kV capacitor bank. The authors...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on magnetics 1989-01, Vol.25 (1), p.290-294
Main Authors: Kear, M.J., Oxley, C.M., Burden, R.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Boring
Capacitors
Drag
Insulation
Laboratories
Projectiles
Railguns
Rails
Surface resistance
Testing
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Culham Laboratory has designed and constructed a hypervelocity test facility (HTF) using electromagnetic launcher technology. Aimed at launching projectiles of approximately 1 gm to a velocity approaching 15 km/s, the facility is configured around an existing 1.1-MJ, 8-kV capacitor bank. The authors describe the electromagnetic launcher design and its power supply system and also report on its early operation. Theoretical performance is predicted and compared with experimental performance. A preliminary assessment of structural integrity, including rail and insulator damage, is presented.< >
ISSN:0018-9464
1941-0069
DOI:10.1109/20.22552