First experiments with the modular augmented staged electromagnetic launcher (MASEL)

Augmented electromagnetic accelerators are advanced mass accelerators which are using an additional magnetic field to support the launching process. In conventional electromagnetic accelerators the electrical current through the rails and the armature has to be very large in order to achieve a sufficiently high electromagnetic force which accelerates the projectile. Due to magnetic flux diffusion effects, the electrical current is concentrated on the back of the armature, resulting in high current concentration and therefore heat generation. Together with the sliding contact between the armature and the rails, abrasive wear of the materials can occur and cause a transition from the solid contact to a plasma contact, which further increases the temperature and the wear of the rails/armature interface. To decrease the electrical current through the armature without decreasing the accelerating force on the projectile, an additional energy input mechanism has to be implemented, realized by an additional magnetic field, augmenting the magnetic field generated by the current through the main rails. In this paper the results from experiments with the first of the planned three stages of the modular augmented staged electromagnetic launcher (MASEL) are presented. Included are the measurements of the characteristic values for the rail module and the augmenting modules as well as the launching performance with and without the magnetic field augmentation. These results are compared with the previously calculated values.