Design and fabrication of projectiles for round bore railguns
A hypervelocity railgun system which operates in a vacuum and uses a gas gun injector to pre-accelerate the projectiles required that the projectile seal operate over wide pressure and velocity ranges. In our case, the helium gas gun injector operated at up to 35 MPa (5 ksi) while the railgun, using a plasma arc armature, operated at up to 150 MPa (22 ksi). In addition to gas and arc sealing, it was necessary that a metal fuse be attached to the rear of the projectile in order to electrically commutate the rails upon entry to the railgun. This paper discusses procedures and techniques in the design and fabrication of projectiles for a round bore railgun. It is divided into three sections: (1) machining the projectile; (2) fuse fabrication; and (3) assembly of the projectile/fuse package.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 5715360
- Report Number(s):
- UCID-20407; ON: DE85011871
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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