Numeric study on EM-mechanical properties of an electromagnetic launcher

Electromagnetic rail launcher has a wide range of applications. Inductive shunt device is usually paralleled with the rails of the launcher as an approach to limit muzzle arc by transferring armature current. The shunt parameters will significantly influence the rail current, armature velocity and device stress conditions, which also makes the physical process more complicated. In this paper a circuit-electromagnetic-mechanical coupled simulation model is developed to analyze the launching process. Based on this model, the influence of shunt impedance, armature resistance and capacitor energy are investigated numerically. Stress conditions and deformation of shunt are studied as well. Some launcher design suggestions are given according to the conclusion.