SMES to Supply an Electromagnetic Launcher

A SMES (Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage) is basically a pulse current source. It is an attractive power supply for electromagnetic launchers, which require pulse currents to launch items or projectiles at very high speeds. SMES brings an alternative to the capacitors used at present which requires a pulse forming inductance limiting the energy transfer efficiency. The resulting oversizing of the primary source is more the issue than the efficiency itself, as power capacitors do not show high mass/volume densities of energy. The very high current required by the launcher may be reached using the XRAM concept, which is a current multiplier for SMES. We will compare the performances of SMES and capacitors to supply a small and a large launcher for different scenarios such as a total or a partial discharge of the SMES.