Study on the Performance of the Sleeve Projectiles of Different Materials and Dimensions Launched Using a Four-Stage Induction Coilgun

This article discusses the simulation and experimental results obtained from the electromagnetic launching studies performed on the sleeve projectiles of different materials and dimensions. The experiments have been carried out by launching the different sleeve projectiles using a four-stage induction coilgun designed and developed at the authors’ laboratory to validate the simulation results. Four materials of different electromagnetic properties, viz., copper (Cu: diamagnetic), aluminum (Al: paramagnetic), stainless steel (SS: paramagnetic), and mild steel (MS: ferromagnetic), have been chosen for the study. The analysis consists of two parts. First, the performance of four different Al sleeve projectiles of the same outer diameter and mass but of different lengths have been compared with four different Cu sleeve projectiles having similar dimensions to their Al counterparts. Second, the performance of four Al, Cu, MS, and SS sleeve projectiles of identical mass, length, and outer diameter have been compared. Finally, this article explains the reason for the differences observed between the performance of each sleeve projectile with the help of the coil excitation current and induced projectile current.