ISL 500 kJ 15 mm railgun numerical simulation

A numerical simulation of the mechanical and electromagnetic behavior of the 15-mm round bore ISL (Institute of Saint-Louis) railgun is presented. The electromagnetic calculations were done with the MSC/EMAS finite element code. The calculated electromagnetic forces acting on the structure serve as an input for the MSC/DYNA finite element code. The theoretical results were compared to experimental measurements on an 500-kJ driven railgun. With this model the behavior of a solid armature with the current input at the backside was compared to the front-fed solid armatures developed at the ISL. Finally, several optimizations of the design are proposed.>