Operation of a 5-MJ capacitor bank for EML materials testing

The U.S. Navy is considering the development of an electromagnetic launcher (EML) for surface-fire support and other missions. The EML system will need to have fire rates of 6–12 rounds per minute and barrel lifetimes approaching 10,000 rounds. The Naval Research Laboratory has initiated a program to develop and test materials to achieve these fire rates and lifetimes. A facility is being assembled to allow testing of rail and armature materials at the high current density, pressure and sliding velocity of the Navy EML. The test system needs to operate over a large range of charging voltages and test configurations. The system also needs to deliver high reliability and reproducibility to accommodate the testing requirements.