Skirted projectiles for railguns

Patent · Tue Jan 04 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:5220308

Hawke, R S; Susoeff, A R

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).

• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• Assignee: Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC ()
• Patent Number(s): A; US 5275083
• Application Number: PPN: US 7-964473
• OSTI ID: 5220308
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
450000* -- Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense
ACCELERATORS
DESIGN
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRICAL INSULATION
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PROJECTILES
RAILGUN ACCELERATORS