Concepts for Fieldable Electromagnetic Gun Barrels
Abstract
The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) is investigating EM gun technology on behalf of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence for possible application to future armoured land vehicles. The UK has achieved considerable success with large caliber, laboratory-weight launchers at the Electromagnetic Launch Facility at Kirkcudbright. The development of 'fieldable' EM guns is less advanced, mirroring the picture elsewhere in the world. One approach taken by the UK has been to consider how technology, currently being applied to conventional (ie powder) gun barrels, can be combined with the best aspects of the laboratory EM barrels into fieldable EM launcher concepts. In this paper the new EM barrel concepts are compared with conventional barrels and laboratory EM launchers in terms of mass, flexural stiffness, muzzle droop and inductance gradient, the latter parameter being a key driver of launcher electrical efficiency. Both circular and non-circular bore shapes are considered. The role of lightweight, fibre composite containment structures is highlighted in order to produce weapons of comparable mass and muzzle droop to a conventional tank gun.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 26, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADP012478
Entities
People
- A. Howard
- D. K. Wallington
- M. A. Firth
- M. J. Hinton
- N. R. Cooper