The design of coilguns is commonly based on a 'try and see' basis using an analytical model to ascertain its performance. This paper examines the use of formal optimisation techniques to explore the performance limitations of pulsed coilgun technology. The optimisation procedure is constrained by the material, mechanical and thermal properties and seeks to determine the coil geometry that achieves the maximum velocity for a given payload. The paper illustrates the maximum velocity achievable for several different payloads as a function of the coilgun length and bore diameter.
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Williamson et al. (1997) studied this question.
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