Muzzle Arc Suppressor for Electromagnetic Projectile Launcher

This application is closely related to an application filed the same day and identified by Assignee No. 50008.

This invention relates to electromagnetic projectile launchers, and more particularly to a muzzle arc suppressor for such devices.

In electromagnetic projectile launchers, a sliding electrical conductor, an armature, or alternatively, an arc between the rails with an insulating sabot, accelerates a projectile to muzzle velocity within the barrel length. This acceleration is produced by the interaction of the armature current and the magnetic field produced by the same current flowing in the conductive rails of the barrel. When the armature leaves the muzzle, the electrical circuit is opened, causing an arc to form. This arc will produce an intense flash which is easily detected from a great distance and will cause erosion and thermal damage to the rails at the muzzle. These occurrences are particularly undesirable if the electromagnetic launcher is used for military applications.

In general, an electromagnetic projectile launcher, when made in accordance with this invention, comprises a pair of generally parallel conductors having a breech and a muzzle end, an armature slidably disposed between the conductors, a source of high current connected to the conductors, a first impedance disposed across the conductors adjacent the muzzle end thereof, and a second impedance disposed in at least one of said conductors on the muzzle side of where the first impedance is connected across the conductors, whereby current is rapidly commutated to the first impedance to suppress muzzle arcing.

The objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electromagnetic projectile launcher made in accordance with this invention; and

FIGS. 2 and 3 are alternative embodiments of this invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIG. 1, there is shown an electromagnetic projectile launching system which comprises a pair of parallel conductive rails 3 and 5, respectively, disposed in a barrel (not shown), having a breech and muzzle end 7 and 9, respectively, a homopolar generator 11 or other means for supplying high current, an induction coil 13 and a make switch 15 connected in series to the breech ends 7 of the conductors 3 and 5. A circuit breaker 17 is electrically connected across the breech end of the conductive rails 3 and 5.

An armature 19 or other means such as an arc and bore sealing sabot is utilized for conducting current between the conductors 3 and 5 and for accelerating a projectile 21 as it moves from the breech 7 to the muzzle 9 end of the coductive rails. On the breech end of the conductive rails are resistive inserts 23 or other means which prevent premature launching and excessive heating of the armature before the circuit breaker 17 is opened to commence firing.

An impedance 25 is electrically connected across the conductive rails adjacent the muzzle end 9. The impedance 25 preferably has a low inductance and may be made of tungsten or other material in which the resistance increases as the temperature increases to assist in rapidly commutating the current to the impedance 25 and thereafter, due to increase in resistance, more rapidly dissipating the energy to reduce heating of the conducting rails. The impedance 25 may be symmetrically disposed on both sides of the conductive rails as shown in FIG. 1; and as shown in FIG. 3, it may also be disposed to substantially link the flux in the armature and rails, to further assist in rapidly commutating current to the impedance 25.

As shown in FIG. 2, an arc horn structure 27 may be disposed on the trailing end of the armature 19 to prevent the arcs drawn from the conductors as the armature 19 separates therefrom and enters the muzzle from coalescing into a single arc between the conductors.

The muzzle end 9 of the rails may be formed of an insulating material as shown in FIG. 1; or the muzzle end 9 may be insulated from the rails as shown in FIG. 2; or as shown in FIG. 3, may be made of a resistive material, preferably the resistivity increasing in the direction of the muzzle. By prevention of arcing near the muzzle in such a configuration as FIG. 1, there will be no arc wear near the muzzle and the bore guiding surfaces will not be deteriorated resulting in maintaining accuracy for many shots.

These arrangements all add a second impedance in series with the driving current either utilizing arcs or a resistive material or a combination thereof to obtain a voltage drop, which rapidly commutates the current to the first-mentioned impedance 25 connected across the rails adjacent the muzzle; and since the muzzle end can be long, the arcs are confined within the barrel and not generally externally visible.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, arc-resistive inserts which may also introduce additional electrical impedance are preferably disposed on the rails at the general locations shown and the arc terminations will remain substantially stationary at these locations but arc damage or wear can be reduced to acceptable levels because the duration of the arcing and/or the current levels at the commencement of arcing will be reduced by the utilization of this invention. In FIG. 3, generally all of the muzzle segments are conductors so that the current is commutated to the impedance 25 before the armature 19 or arc and sabot reach the muzzle so that the muzzle arc is suppressed or eliminated.

Another alternative configuration for eliminating or reducing muzzle arcing involves placing the impedance 25 a deliberately greater distance from the muzzle end of normally conducting rails. In that case, due to the longer rail length beyond the attachment locations of the impedance 25, the voltage produced by rail impedance beyond the attachment locations together with the voltage drop across the rails due to the projectile driving current combine and can result in both a high enough voltage and for a long enough period of time to substantially or entirely commutate the current into the impedance 25. This commutation can be expedited by having a linkage of fluxes between the as yet uncommutated driving current in the rails and the already commutated current in the impedance 25, and thus a favorable flux disposition.

The muzzle arc suppressors hereinbefore described advantageously set forth several devices, wherein commutation of current into the muzzle resistor is achieved without producing any arc at all, or at least without producing an externally visible arc. This is achieved by introducing resistive and/or insulating sections in the barrel adjacent the muzzle end thereof.