Mathematical Modeling of Rail Gun

Abstract

The exit velocity of the launch object along with the values of electric and thermal conductivity at the interfaces between the rails and the armature of a rail gun are critical issues. This thesis, using finite element method, estimates the former by solving the proper multiphysics governing equations along with exploiting the contact theory between flat surfaces. A parametric analysis in the vicinity of the standard deviation of the normalized distance between the references planes of the rough surfaces was made for a variety of materials and textures at the interfaces. Furthermore, the amount of ohmic heat that is generated due to the application of the electric potential and the resistance of materials is estimated along with the average temperature at the interfaces. Finally, thermal stresses were also studied.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA457354

Entities

People

  • Nikolaos Pratikakis

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Computer Programs
  • Conductivity
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Differential Equations
  • Electrical Conductivity
  • Energy
  • Equations
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Guns
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Materials
  • Materials Science
  • Melting Point
  • Numerical Analysis
  • Thermal Conductivity
  • Two Dimensional
  • Voltage

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Thermal Physics or Thermal Science.
  • ballistics.