INVESTIGATION OF AN ARC GUN,
Abstract
To satisfy needs for a superior hypervelocity gun, a study was made of the possibility of converting the electrical energy in a capacitor bank to kinetic energy of a projectile through the use of an electric arc discharge in a gun chamber. An arc gun was developed consisting of a chamber with a pair of electrodes and an accelerating barrel. To operate the gun, the chamber is packed with lithium hydride and the barrel is fitted with a nylon pellet. The capacitor bank is discharged into the chamber, causing conversion of the lithium hydride into a low-molecular gas. The expansion of the light gas accelerates the pellet. With a 30 microfarad capacitor bank charged to 17 kilovolts, a 3.7 milligram nylon projectile was accelerated to 5.0 kilometers per second. The efficiency of the energy conversion from the capacitor to the arc was 58.2 per cent, and the efficiency of the energy conversion from the arc to the projectile was 1.82 per cent. The total efficiency of the energy conversion from the capacitor to the projectile was 1.1 per cent. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 03, 1960
- Accession Number
- AD0604499
Entities
People
- E. P. Palmer
- R. W. Grow
- Toshihiro Fujii