A second generation EMET railgun for secondary arc studies
- GT-Devices, Inc., Alexandria, VA (United States)
Since 1985 GT-Devices has been operating a pair of railguns with lengths of 0.9 m and 3.6 m respectively. Although velocities up to 5.65 km/s have been obtained with clean plasma armature structures devoid of secondary arcs, performance on most shots is degraded to one degree or another by the formation of parasitic secondary arcs. These experimental results, however, have not been very reproducible, making controlled studies of these secondary arcs difficult. A new second generation railgun is now being constructed to improve straightness, stiffness, sealing, and diagnostic access. The basic design consists of a steel tube with a thin lengthwise slit forming two halves in cross section with bolt preloading. The internal structure consists of split tubular G-10 compression blocks with Glidcop AL-15 rails and polycarbonate insulators formed from 90 degree tube sections. Machining tolerance mismatch is adjusted with compliant layers as required. An adjustable diameter, helical diamond lap is used to produce a finished round bore of nominally 1 cm diameter in the assembled launcher and for bore refurbishment between shots. This paper discusses the design details of the new railgun, injector, and diagnostics and presents some initial experimental results.
- OSTI ID:
- 5654988
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9004136--
- Journal Information:
- IEEE Transactions on Magnetics (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States), Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Magnetics (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States) Vol. 27:1; ISSN IEMGA; ISSN 0018-9464
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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