Projectile oscillations in augmented rail guns
The projectile in an inductive store-powered rail gun, augmented by an external magnetic field, will oscillate under certain conditions. This behavior is easily understood when there is no resistance in the circuit comprising the storage coil, rails and armature. In this case, the flux in the complete circuit is conserved. However, as the projectile moves down the rails, more flux from the augmenting field is picked up. This must be accompanied by a decrease in current in the system to conserve the total flux. At a certain distance down the rails, the current must reverse to conserve the flux, and thus the force on the projectile reverses. This mechanism leads to oscillation of the projectile. An analytic solution is given for the case in which the resistance is zero.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Watervliet Arsenal, NY (USA). Benet Weapons Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 5537805
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-86-2268; CONF-860703-3; ON: DE86012423
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 4. international conference on megagauss magnetic-field generation and related topics, Santa Fe, NM, USA, 14 Jul 1986
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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