Skirted projectiles for railguns
Abstract
A single skirt projectile (20) having an insulating skirt (22) at its rear, or a dual trailing skirt projectile (30, 40, 50, 60) having an insulating skirt (32, 42, 52, 62) succeeded by an arc extinguishing skirt (34, 44, 54, 64), is accelerated by a railgun accelerator 10 having a pair of parallel conducting rails (1a, 1b) which are separated by insulating wall spacers (11). The insulating skirt (22, 32, 42, 52, 62) includes a plasma channel (38). The arc extinguishing skirt (34, 44, 54, 64) interrupts the conduction that occurs in the insulating skirt channel (38) by blocking the plasma arc (3) from conducting current from rail to rail (1a, 1b) at the rear of the projectile (30, 40, 50, 60). The arc extinguishing skirt may be comprised of two plates (36a, 36b) which form a horseshoe wherein the plates are parallel to the rails (1a, b); a chisel-shape design; cross-shaped, or it may be a cylindrical (64). The length of the insulating skirt channel is selected such that there is sufficient plasma in the channel to enable adequate current conduction between the rails (1a, 1b).
- Inventors:
- Issue Date:
- OSTI Identifier:
- 5220308
- Patent Number(s):
- 5275083
- Application Number:
- PPN: US 7-964473
- Assignee:
- Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC ()
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- Resource Type:
- Patent
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: 21 Oct 1992
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE; PROJECTILES; DESIGN; RAILGUN ACCELERATORS; ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY; ELECTRICAL INSULATION; ACCELERATORS; ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; 450000* - Military Technology, Weaponry, & National Defense
Citation Formats
Hawke, R S, and Susoeff, A R. Skirted projectiles for railguns. United States: N. p., 1994.
Web.
Hawke, R S, & Susoeff, A R. Skirted projectiles for railguns. United States.
Hawke, R S, and Susoeff, A R. Tue .
"Skirted projectiles for railguns". United States.
@article{osti_5220308,
title = {Skirted projectiles for railguns},
author = {Hawke, R S and Susoeff, A R},
abstractNote = {A single skirt projectile (20) having an insulating skirt (22) at its rear, or a dual trailing skirt projectile (30, 40, 50, 60) having an insulating skirt (32, 42, 52, 62) succeeded by an arc extinguishing skirt (34, 44, 54, 64), is accelerated by a railgun accelerator 10 having a pair of parallel conducting rails (1a, 1b) which are separated by insulating wall spacers (11). The insulating skirt (22, 32, 42, 52, 62) includes a plasma channel (38). The arc extinguishing skirt (34, 44, 54, 64) interrupts the conduction that occurs in the insulating skirt channel (38) by blocking the plasma arc (3) from conducting current from rail to rail (1a, 1b) at the rear of the projectile (30, 40, 50, 60). The arc extinguishing skirt may be comprised of two plates (36a, 36b) which form a horseshoe wherein the plates are parallel to the rails (1a, b); a chisel-shape design; cross-shaped, or it may be a cylindrical (64). The length of the insulating skirt channel is selected such that there is sufficient plasma in the channel to enable adequate current conduction between the rails (1a, 1b).},
doi = {},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jan 04 00:00:00 EST 1994},
month = {Tue Jan 04 00:00:00 EST 1994}
}