10/02/2017 Railgun|SeminarReport,PPT,PDFforMechanical

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PublishedonJan01,2017

Abstract
A railgun is an electrically powered electromagnetic projectile launcher based on similar principles to the homopolar motor. A railgun comprises a pair of parallel
conductingrails,alongwhichaslidingarmatureisacceleratedbytheelectromagneticeffectsofacurrentthatflowsdownonerail,intothearmatureandthenback
alongtheotherrail.Railgunshavelongexistedasexperimentaltechnologybutthemass,sizeandcostoftherequiredpowersupplieshavepreventedrailgunsfrom
becomingpracticalmilitaryweapons.

However, in recent years, significant efforts have been made towards their development as feasible military technology. For example, in the late 2000s, the U.S.
Navytestedarailgunthatacceleratesa3.2kg(7pound)projectiletohypersonicvelocitiesofapproximately2.4kilometrespersecond(5,400mph),aboutMach7.

Inadditiontomilitaryapplications,railgunshavebeenproposedtolaunchspacecraftintoorbithowever,unlessthelaunchingtrackwasparticularlylong,andthe
accelerationrequiredspreadoveramuchlongertime,suchlauncheswouldnecessarilyberestrictedtounmannedspacecraft.

RAILGUNBASICS
Arailgunisbasicallyalargeelectriccircuit,madeupofthreeparts:apowersource,apairofparallelrailsandamovingarmature.

1.Thepowersupplyissimplyasourceofelectriccurrent.Typically,thecurrentusedinmediumtolargecaliberrailgunsisinthemillionsofamps.

2.Therailsarelengthsofconductivemetal,suchascopper.Theycanrangefromfourto30feet(9meters)long.

3. The armature bridges the gap between the rails. It can be a solid piece of conductive metal or a conductive sabot a carrier that houses a dart or other
projectile.

Somerailgunsuseaplasmaarmature.Inthissetupathinmetalfoilisplacedonthebackofanonconductingprojectile.Whenpowerflowsthroughthisfoilit
vaporizesandbecomesaplasma,whichcarriesthecurrent.

Thearmaturemaybeanintegralpartoftheprojectile,butitmayalsobeconfiguredtoaccelerateaseparate,electricallyisolatedornonconductingprojectile.Solid,
metallicslidingconductorsareoftenthepreferredformofrailgunarmaturebut"plasma"or"hybrid"armaturescanalsobeused.Aplasmaarmatureisformedbyan
arcofionisedgasthatisusedtopushasolid,nonconductingpayloadinasimilarmannertothepropellantgaspressureinaconventionalgun.Ahybridarmature
usesapairof"plasma"contactstointerfaceametallicarmaturetothegunrails.

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MECHANISM

Arailgunconsistsoftwoparallelmetalrails(hencethename)connectedtoanelectricalpowersupply.Whenaconductiveprojectileisinsertedbetweentherails(at
the end connected to the power supply), it completes the circuit. Electrons flow from the negative terminal of the power supply up the negative rail, across the
projectile,anddownthepositiverail,backtothepowersupply.Thiscurrentmakestherailgunbehaveasanelectromagnet,creatingamagneticfieldinsidetheloop
formedbythelengthoftherailsuptothepositionofthearmature.Inaccordancewiththerighthandrule,themagneticfieldcirculatesaroundeachconductor.

Sincethecurrentisintheoppositedirectionalongeachrail,thenetmagneticfieldbetweentherails(B)isdirectedatrightanglestotheplaneformedbythecentral
axesoftherailsandthearmature.Incombinationwiththecurrent(I)inthearmature,thisproducesaLorentzforcewhichacceleratestheprojectilealongtherails,
awayfromthepowersupply.

TherearealsoLorentzforcesactingontherailsandattemptingtopushthemapart,butsincetherailsaremountedfirmly,theycannotmove.Averylargepower
supply,providingontheorderofonemillionamperesofcurrent,willcreateatremendousforceontheprojectile,acceleratingittoaspeedofmanykilometresper
second(km/s).20km/shasbeenachievedwithsmallprojectilesexplosivelyinjectedintotherailgun.Althoughthesespeedsarepossible,theheatgeneratedfrom
thepropulsionoftheobjectisenoughtoerodetherailsrapidly.Underhighuseconditions,currentrailgunswouldrequirefrequentreplacementoftherails,orto
useaheatresistantmaterialthatwouldbeconductiveenoughtoproducethesameeffect.

Notice that the Lorentz force is parallel to the rails, acting away from the power supply. The magnitude of the force is determined by the equation F = (i)(L)(B),
whereFisthenetforce,iisthecurrent,ListhelengthoftherailsandBisthemagneticfield.Theforcecanbeboostedbyincreasingeitherthelengthoftherails
ortheamountofcurrent.

Becauselongrailsposedesignchallenges,mostrailgunsusestrongcurrentsontheorderofamillionampstogeneratetremendousforce.Theprojectile,
undertheinfluenceoftheLorentzforce,acceleratestotheendoftherailsoppositethepowersupplyandexitsthroughanaperture.Thecircuitisbroken,which
endstheflowofcurrent.

APPLICATIONS
A)LaunchofSpacecraftForspacelaunchesfromEarth,relativelyshortaccelerationdistances(lessthanafewkm)wouldrequireverystrongaccelerationforces,
higherthanhumanscantolerate.Otherdesignsincludealongerhelical(spiral)track,oralargeringdesignwherebyaspacevehiclewouldcircletheringnumerous
times,graduallygainingspeed,beforebeingreleasedintoalaunchcorridorleadingskyward.

In2003,IanMcNaboutlinedaplantoturnthisideaintoarealizedtechnology.Theaccelerationsinvolvedaresignificantlystrongerthanhumanbeingscanhandle.
Thissystemwouldonlybeusedtolaunchsturdymaterials,suchasfood,water,andfuel.Notethatescapevelocityunderidealcircumstances(equator,mountain,
headingeast)is10.735km/s.Thesystemwouldcost$528/kg,comparedwith$20,000/kgonthespaceshuttle.TherailgunsystemMcNabsuggestedwouldlaunch
500tonsperyear,spreadoverapproximately2000launchesperyear.

Becausethelaunchtrackwouldbe1.6km,powerwillbesuppliedbyadistributednetworkof100rotatingmachines(compulsator)spreadalongthetrack.Each
machine would have a 3.3 ton carbon fibre rotor spinning at high speeds. A machine can recharge in a matter of hours using 10 MW. This machine could be
suppliedbyadedicatedgenerator.Thetotallaunchpackagewouldweighalmost1.4tons.Payloadperlaunchintheseconditionsisover400kg.Therewouldbea
peakoperatingmagneticfieldof5THalfofthiscomingfromtherails,andtheotherhalffromaugmentingmagnets.Thishalvestherequiredcurrentthroughthe
rails,whichreducesthepowerfourfold.

MilitaryWeapon

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Railgunsarebeingresearchedasweaponswithprojectilesthatdonotcontainexplosivesorpropellants,butaregivenextremelyhighvelocities:3,500m/s(11,500
ft/s)(approximatelyMach10atsealevel)ormore(forcomparison,theM16riflehasamuzzlespeedof930m/s(3,050ft/s),andthe16"/50caliberMark7gunthat
armedWorldWarIIAmericanbattleshipshasamuzzlespeedof760m/s(2,490ft/s)),whichwouldmaketheirkineticenergyequalorfarsuperiortotheenergy
yield of an explosivefilled shell of greater mass. This would decrease ammunition size and weight, allowing more ammunition to be carried and eliminating the
hazardsofcarryingexplosivesorpropellantsinatankornavalweaponsplatform.Also,byfiringatgreatervelocities,railgunshavegreaterrange,lessbulletdrop,
less time to target, and less wind drift, bypassing the physical limitations of conventional firearms: "the limits of gas expansion prohibit launching an unassisted
projectiletovelocitiesgreaterthanabout1.5km/sandrangesofmorethan50miles[80km]fromapracticalconventionalgunsystem."

Triggerforinertialconfinementfusion
Railgunsmayalsobeminiaturizedforinertialconfinementnuclearfusion.

Fusionistriggeredbyveryhightemperatureandpressureatthecore.

Currenttechnologycallsformultiplelasers,usuallyover100,toconcurrentlystrikeafuelpellet,creatingasymmetricalcompressivepressure.

Railgunsmaybeabletotriggerfusionbyfiringenergeticplasmafrommultipledirections.Theprocessdevelopedinvolvesfourkeysteps.

Plasmaispumpedintoachamber.

Whenthepressureisgreatenough,adiaphragmwillrupture,sendinggasdowntherail.

Shortlyafterwards,asufficientvoltageisappliedtotherails,creatingaconductionpathofionizedgas.

Thisplasmaaccelerateddowntherail,eventuallybeingejectedatalargevelocity.

Therailsanddimensionsareontheorderofcentimeters.

CONCLUSION
Fullscale models have been built and fired, including a 90 mm (3.5 in) bore, 9 MJ kinetic energy gun developed by the US DARPA. Rail and insulator wear
problemsstillneedtobesolvedbeforerailgunscanstarttoreplaceconventionalweapons.ProbablytheoldestconsistentlysuccessfulsystemwasbuiltbytheUK's
DefenceResearchAgencyatDundrennanRangeinKirkcudbright,Scotland.TheYugoslavianMilitaryTechnologyInstitutedeveloped,withinaprojectnamedEDO
0, a railgun with 7 kJ kinetic energy, in 1985. In 1987 a successor was created, project EDO1, that used projectile with a mass of 0.7 kg (1.5 lb) and achieved
speedsof3,000m/s(9,800ft/s),andwithamassof1.1kg(2.4lb)reachedspeedsof2,400m/s(7,900ft/s).Itusedatracklengthof0.7m(2.3ft).

Accordingtothoseworkingonit,withothermodificationsitwasabletoachieveaspeedof4,500m/s(14,800ft/s).Theaimwastoachieveprojectilespeedof7,000
m/s (23,000 ft/s). At the time, it was considered a military secret. The United States military is funding railgun experiments. At the University of Texas at Austin
CentreforElectromechanics,militaryrailgunscapableofdeliveringtungstenarmorpiercingbulletswithkineticenergiesofninemegajouleshavebeendeveloped.

9MJisenoughenergytodeliver2kg(4.4lb)ofprojectileat3km/s(1.9mi/s)atthatvelocityarodoftungstenoranotherdensemetalcouldeasilypenetratea
tank, and potentially pass through it. The United States Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division demonstrated an 8 MJ railgun firing 3.2 kg (7.1 lb)
projectilesinOctober2006asaprototypeofa64MJweapontobedeployedaboardNavywarships.ThemainproblemtheU.S.Navyhashadwithimplementinga
railguncannonsystemisthatthegunswearoutduetotheimmenseheatproducedbyfiring.Suchweaponsareexpectedtobepowerfulenoughtodoalittlemore
damagethanaBGM109Tomahawkmissileatafractionoftheprojectilecost.Sincethen,BAESystemshasdelivereda32MJprototypetotheU.S.Navy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.Adams,E."Electromagneticrailgun,"PopularScience.September7,2005,http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/generaltechnology/

2.TheDefenceScienceandTechnologyMinistry(UKMinistryofDefense),http://www.dstl.gov.uk/pr/science_spot/off_the_rails.htm

3.EncyclopediaBritannica2005,s.v."militarytechnology."CDROM,2005.

4.EncyclopediaBritannica2005,s.v."magnetism."CDROM,2005.

5.Folger,T."ThegunsofBrooklyn,"Discover.August1992.

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