Investigations on the Influence of Augmented Rail Geometry on Rail Gun Design Parameters using Finite Element Method

This paper investigates the effect of augmented rail geometry on rail gun key parameters such as mutual inductance gradient between the main and augmented rail (M’), maximum current density, and maximum magnetic flux density distribution in the rail cross-section, as well as repulsive force acting on the rails. The research study was conducted using a rectangular main rail with several augmented rail designs, including rectangular T, rectangular E, rectangular U, rectangular Convex, and rectangular Concave under inward and outward modes. The ANSYS MAXWELL 2-D eddy current field solver, which computes the magnetic field distributions for a given configuration using the finite element method, was used to calculate the rail gun essential parameters. Using the obtained results, a comparison study was conducted. It was found that the rectangular main rail with the inward circular convex augmented form rail cross-section had a greater value of M’ than other geometries; hence, it could be utilized to increase the armature’s velocity.