Interior Ballistic Characteristics of Electromagnetic Rail Launcher Considering the Dynamic Characteristics of Real Launcher

In this article, we have presented a three-dimensional transient electromagnetic (EM) force calculation model of the electromagnetic rail launcher (EMRL), which could quickly calculate the transient EM force of the armature and the rail through combining the finite-element method with experiment and proposed the model of structural stiffness nonlinearity of EMRL. To study the interior ballistic characteristics of the EMRL, through the self-programming and the development of commercial finite-element software for the second time, the article presents the first time that an interior ballistic simulation model (IBSM) of the EMRL with EM and structural coupling considering the structural stiffness nonlinearity of EMRL. The correction function is proposed to improve the prediction accuracy of armature dynamic parameters by IBSM and the calculation errors of displacement of IBSM can be guaranteed not to exceed 1% compared with the test results of magnetic probes array. A strain test platform with a demodulation frequency of 8000 Hz was established to verify the IBSM's ability to calculate dynamic characteristics of the armature and the rail. After considering the structural stiffness nonlinearity of EMRL, the simulation accuracy of IBSM has been greatly improved compared with that of linearity. The experimental test results show that the IBSM is ease of application and, meanwhile, performs satisfactorily in terms of high accuracy and low computation.

Automated summary

This article presents a three-dimensional transient electromagnetic (EM) force calculation model of the electromagnetic rail launcher (EMRL) and studies its interior ballistic characteristics, improving prediction accuracy and reliably calculating dynamic characteristics.