Summary of railgun development for ultrahigh-pressure research. Revision 1
This paper summarizes the results of EM launcher tests performed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The system used a helium gas injector and railgun launcher to accelerate and launch 1- and 4-g polycarbonate projectiles to 6.6 and 3.0 km/s, respectively. A 625 kJ capacitor bank powered the railgun, and an adjustable inductor provided pulse shaping and peak current control. Operation in hard and soft vacuum was reliably achieved. Projectiles were accelerated without blowby and were verified by flash x-ray shadowgraphs to be intact after launch. A precision-bore launcher and projectiles with flared gas seals were used. Injection at 1 km/s significantly reduced erosion, but it did not eliminate it.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 5159613
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-94446-Rev.1; CONF-860703-9-Rev.1; ON: DE86016077
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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