![]() ![]() Therefore, typical military railgun designs aim for muzzle velocities in the range of 2,000–3,500 m/s (4,500–7,800 mph 7,200–12,600 km/h) with muzzle energies of 5–50 megajoules Increased muzzle velocities with better aerodynamically streamlined projectiles can convey the benefits of increased firing ranges while, in terms of target effects, increased terminal velocities can allow the use of kinetic energy rounds incorporating hit-to-kill guidance, as replacements for explosive shells. įor potential military applications, railguns are usually of interest because they can achieve much greater muzzle velocities than guns powered by conventional chemical propellants. The high current required to power a railgun can be provided by various power supply technologies, such as capacitors, pulse generators and disc generators. Solid armatures may also 'transition' into hybrid armatures, typically after a particular velocity threshold is exceeded. A hybrid armature uses a pair of plasma contacts to interface a metallic armature to the gun rails. A plasma armature is formed by an arc of ionised gas that is used to push a solid, non-conducting payload in a similar manner to the propellant gas pressure in a conventional gun. Solid, metallic sliding conductors are often the preferred form of railgun armature but plasma or 'hybrid' armatures can also be used. The armature may be an integral part of the projectile, but it may also be configured to accelerate a separate, electrically isolated or non-conducting projectile. Some railguns also use strong neodymium magnets with the field perpendicular to the current flow to increase the force on the projectile. In electric motor terminology, augmented railguns are usually series-wound configurations. These arrangements reduce the current required for a given acceleration. A relatively common variant of this configuration is the augmented railgun in which the driving current is channeled through additional pairs of parallel conductors, arranged to increase ('augment') the magnetic field experienced by the moving armature. This basic configuration is formed by a single loop of current and thus requires high currents (e.g., of order one million amperes) to produce sufficient accelerations (and muzzle velocities). The railgun in its simplest form differs from a traditional electric motor in that no use is made of additional field windings (or permanent magnets). Any trade-off analysis between electromagnetic (EM) propulsion systems and chemical propellants for weapons applications must also factor in its durability, availability and economics, as well as the novelty, bulkiness, high energy demand and complexity of the pulsed power supplies that are needed for electromagnetic launcher systems. Railguns are still very much at the research stage after decades of R&D, and it remains to be seen whether they will ever be deployed as practical military weapons. The absence of explosive propellants or warheads to store and handle, as well as the low cost of projectiles compared to conventional weaponry, are also advantages. Because of the potentially high velocity of a railgun-launched projectile, its destructive force may be much greater than conventionally launched projectiles of the same size. The destructive force of a projectile depends on its kinetic energy and mass at the point of impact. ![]() For a similar projectile, the range of railguns may exceed that of conventional guns. While explosive-powered military guns cannot readily achieve a muzzle velocity of more than ≈2 km/s, railguns can readily exceed 3 km/s. APFSDS) rather than using conventional propellants. Īs of 2020, railguns have been researched as weapons utilizing electromagnetic forces to impart a very high kinetic energy to a projectile (e.g. It is based on principles similar to those of the homopolar motor. The railgun uses a pair of parallel conductors (rails), along which a sliding armature is accelerated by the electromagnetic effects of a current that flows down one rail, into the armature and then back along the other rail. The projectile normally does not contain explosives, instead relying on the projectile's high speed, mass, and kinetic energy to inflict damage. Test firing at the United States Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division in January 2008 Ī railgun is a linear motor device, typically designed as a weapon, that uses electromagnetic force to launch high velocity projectiles. ![]()
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