Research on Energy Loss Distribution of an Augmented Railgun

In order to analyze the characteristics of energy loss distribution of the electromagnetic launcher (EML), a calculation model considering contact resistance, contact velocity skin effect, and friction force was established. First, a comparison between the calculation results and the experimental results was employed to verify the accuracy and the reliability of this model. Second, the energy loss of every component of the EML system was calculated and analyzed. Based on this model, the energy loss distribution is easily obtained and visually understood, which is helpful for the EML optimization design. Finally, we discussed the difference of the energy loss distribution between an augmented railgun with stainless steel containment and without containment. Results show that the stainless steel containment decreases the launch efficiency and make more electric energy transformed into resistance loss in the EML system.