Why plasma armature railguns don't work (and what can be done about it)
Plasma armature railguns have failed to achieve the high velocities predicted in the early 1980's. Only a few experiments in the last decade have exceeded the velocity of 5.9 km/s obtained by Rashleigh and Marshall in their pioneering plasma armature experiments. The apparent barrier at 6 to 7 km/s results from viscous and ablation drag on neutral and ionized material in the railgun bore. It has taken almost five years to understand and demonstrate clearly the inter-relation of ablation, viscous drag, and arc restrike. In the light of this improved understanding, it is time to examine the future potential of plasma armature railguns. There is little reason to hope that conventional railguns will exceed a velocity of 8 to 10 km/s. New approaches based on reducing the amount of material entering the bore or eliminating electrical conduction appear promising. Based on current understanding a velocity of 20 to 25 km/s appears possible using either advanced materials or novel railgun power systems. 12 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 5021399
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-88-789; CONF-880478-9; ON: DE88007900
- Resource Relation:
- Journal Volume: 25; Journal Issue: 1; Conference: 4. symposium on electromagnetic launch technology, Austin, TX, USA, 12 Apr 1988
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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