Application of programmable discharge of capacitive energy store for current pulse forming in railgun and electrodischarge launcher

This paper describes the pulse formation of a programmable multi-stage pulsed power supply for electric railguns. This power supply allows optimal operation of the railgun by maintaining a near constant acceleration force over the launch period. This constant force is gained by matching the voltage of the power supply to the variable inductance and resistance of the launcher. A way to estimate the load inductance is presented in this paper. >