Design and performance of Sandia`s contactless coilgun for 50 mm projectiles

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:10132499

Kaye, R J; Cnare, E C; Cowan, M; Duggin, B W; Lipinski, R J; Marder, B M ^[1]; Douglas, G M ^[2]; Shimp, K J ^[3]

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1. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
2. Rockwell Power Systems Co., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
3. EG and G, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

A multi-stage, contactless coilgun is being designed to demonstrate the applicability of this technology to accelerate nominal 50 mm (2 inch) diameter projectiles to velocities of 3 km/s. Forty stages of this design (Phase 1 coilgun) will provide a testbed for coil designs and system components while accelerating 200 to 400 gram projectiles to 1 km/s. We have successfully qualified the Phase 1 gun by operating 40 stages at half energy (10 kJ stored/stage) accelerating 340 gram, room-temperature, aluminum-armature projectiles to 406 m/s. We expect to accelerate 200 gram projectiles cooled to {minus}196{degrees}C to three times this velocity when operating at full energy. This paper describes the design and performance of the Phase 1 coilgun and includes discussion of coil development, projectile design, capacitor banks, firing system, and integration. 10 refs.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 10132499
• Report Number(s): SAND--91-2158C; CONF-9204102--1; ON: DE92009058
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
420200
ACCELERATION
ALUMINIUM
CAPACITORS
DESIGN
FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND TECHNIQUES
MAGNET COILS
PERFORMANCE
PROJECTILES
RAILGUN ACCELERATORS