An Evaluation of Battery Power Supplies for Electric Railguns
Abstract
This paper describes an analytical feasibility study of the use of chemical storage batteries as the power supply for an electric railgun. The railguns studied are capable of accelerating 1 to 10 kg projectiles to 10 km/sec. Batteries were studied because they offer extremely high energy storage density although they operate at low voltage. Thus, an inductive store must be used to provide pulse compression and voltage magnification. The effect of using room temperature, cryogenic, and superconducting inductors was studied. In addition, segmented railguns were investigated to attempt to reduce rail losses and thus energy requirements. Based on the information available, battery mass is prohibitive for all but a ground based test bed. Use of cryogenic or superconducting coils greatly reduced the battery mass; however segmentation of the gun produced an insignificant decrease in battery mass.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA636305
Entities
People
- Philip J. Joseph
- Timothy L. Skvarenina
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology