Design and testing of high-pressure railguns and projectiles

The results of high-pressure tests of four railgun designs and four projectile types are presented. All tests were conducted at the Los Alamos explosive magnetic-flux compression facility in Ancho Canyon. The data suggest that the high-strength projectiles have lower resistance to acceleration than the low-strength projectiles, which expand against the bore during acceleration. The railguns were powered by explosive magnetic-flux compression generators. 1,2 Calculations to predict railgun and power supply performance were performed by Kerrisk.3