) by a factor of about 3 or 4 ( electromagnetic railgun’s (EMRG) power supply, thus reducing its footprint. {\displaystyle L'} , oriented at right angles to both the armature and the bore axis, then, with an armature current Electrons flow from the negative terminal of the power supply up the negative rail, across the projectile, and down the positive rail, back to the power supply.[35]. This gun should not be confused with a two- or three-stage light-gas gun. [47] Because of strong acceleration, this system would launch only sturdy materials, such as food, water, and – most importantly – fuel. {\displaystyle \mu _{0}} Notwithstanding the above advantages, railguns are still very much at the research stage after decades of R&D, and it remains to be seen whether or not they will ever be deployed as practical military weapons. Some erroneous work has suggested that the recoil force in railguns can be redirected or eliminated; careful theoretical and experimental analysis reveals that the recoil force acts on the breech closure just as in a chemical firearm. [113], In early February 2018, pictures of what is claimed to be a Chinese railgun were published online. This basic configuration is formed by a single loop of current and thus requires high currents (e.g., of order one million amperes) to produce sufficient accelerations (and muzzle velocities). The other half of the electromagnetic work represents the more useful power flow - into the kinetic energy of the projectile. by insertion into the breech), it completes the circuit. assuming the rails are lying in the xy plane and run from x = 0 back to {\displaystyle d} Problems include: extremely low rate of fire (barrel has to cool down) and the chance that the whole weapon explodes from the sheer force. {\displaystyle I^{2}L'v} μ The aim was to achieve projectile speed of 7,000 m/s (23,000 ft/s). The above formula is based on the assumption that the distance ( The first computer simulations occurred in 1990, and its first published experiment appeared on August 1, 1993. RlyehLiberationFront. However, if the barrel is made of a magnetically permeable material, the magnetic field strength increases due to the increase in permeability (μ = μ0*μr, where μ is the effective permeability, μ0 is the permeability constant and μr is the relative permeability of the barrel). With most practical railgun geometries, it is not easy to produce an electromagnetic expression for the railgun force that is both simple and reasonably accurate. A railgun is a linear motor device, typically designed as a weapon, that uses electromagnetic force to launch high velocity projectiles. {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {\ell }}} Korol’kov eventually concluded that while the construction of a long-range electric gun was within the realm of possibility, the practical application of Fauchon-Villeplee's railgun was hindered by its enormous electric energy consumption and its need for a special electric generator of considerable capacity to power it. The projectile is fired by another means (e.g., a light-gas gun or railgun) supersonically through the first diaphragm into the tube. [93][94][95], The railgun would be part of a Navy fleet that envisions future offensive and defensive capabilities being provided in layers: lasers to provide close range defense, railguns to provide medium range attack and defense, and cruise missiles to provide long-range attack; though railguns will cover targets up to 100 miles away that previously needed a missile. A conventional uses a gun barrel and a chemical explosive to send the projectile. [92], Though the 23 lb projectiles have no explosives, their Mach 7 velocity gives them 32 megajoules of energy, but impact kinetic energy downrange will typically be 50 percent or less of the muzzle energy. [105], The U.S. Army Research Laboratory also monitored electromagnetic and electrothermal gun technology development at the Institute for Advanced Technology (IAT) at the University of Texas at Austin, one of five university and industry laboratories that ARL federated to procure technical support. A railgun projectile can reach several times the speed of sound faster than a missile; because of this, it can hit a target, such as a cruise missile, much faster and farther away from the ship. This is one of the most, if not the most, powerful handheld cannons on Youtube. Juliano Scharf Performer. represents the electromagnetic work done. Alternatively, very long rail systems may be used to reduce the required launch acceleration. {\displaystyle I^{2}R'x} and Light gas guns are designed to reach higher muzzle velocities than combustion guns. The Yugoslavian Military Technology Institute developed, within a project named EDO-0, a railgun with 7 kJ kinetic energy, in 1985. ) as described below. is the perpendicular distance from the point on the armature to the axis of one of the wires. The new rail gun is a 32-megajoule Electro-Magnetic Laboratory Rail Gun. term will be zero. d The Navy is also developing directed-energy weapons for air defense use, but it will be years or decades before they will be effective. Symposium on Electromagnetic Launch Technology (EML 2012) at Beijing. This equation also shows that high accelerations will require very high currents. In aerodynamics, velocities above Mach 5 … [8] For potential military applications, railguns are usually of interest because they can achieve much greater muzzle velocities than guns powered by conventional chemical propellants. The EMRG was designed to offer a low cost alternative to orbital debris testing on satellites. While not nearly as powerful as a cruise missile like a BGM-109 Tomahawk, that will deliver 3,000 MJ of destructive energy to a target, such weapons would, in theory, allow the Navy to deliver more granular firepower at a fraction of the cost of a missile, and will be much harder to shoot down versus future defensive systems. In the pictures the gun is mounted on the bow of a Type 072III-class landing ship Haiyangshan. [16] This machine was operational from 1962 and was later used to power a large-scale railgun that was used as a scientific experiment. {\displaystyle x=-\infty } Resistive losses now correspond to a power flow As of December 2010, the greatest known energy used to propel a projectile from a railgun was 33 megajoules. A railgun consists of two parallel metal rails (hence the name). Currently published material suggests that major advances in material science must be made before rails can be developed that allow railguns to fire more than a few full-power shots before replacement of the rails is required. [11][14], In 1944, during World War II, Joachim Hänsler of Nazi Germany's Ordnance Office proposed the first theoretically viable railgun. A machine can recharge in a matter of hours using 10 MW power. This causes three main problems: melting of equipment, decreased safety of personnel, and detection by enemy forces due to increased infrared signature. Railguns have limited potential to be used against both surface and airborne targets. So the total power flowing into the railgun is then simply the product l Mass Driver (Electromagnetic Catapult) MK-71 8: Combustion Light Gas Gun (CLGG) Credits (7) Vegas Salruas Backing Vocals, Recorded By. The railgun in its simplest form differs from a traditional electric motor[5] in that no use is made of additional field windings (or permanent magnets). For comparison, the M16 rifle has a muzzle speed of 930 m/s (3,050 ft/s), and the 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun that armed World War II American battleships has a muzzle speed of 760 m/s (2,490 ft/s)), which because of its much greater projectile mass (up to 2,700 pounds) generated a muzzle energy of 360 MJ and a downrange kinetic impact of energy of over 160 MJ (see also Project HARP). A combustion light-gas gun (CLGG) is a projectile weapon that utilizes the explosive force of low molecular-weight combustible gases, such as hydrogen mixed with oxygen, as propellant.When the gases are ignited, they burn, expand and propel the projectile out of the barrel with higher efficiency relative to solid propellant and have achieved higher muzzle velocities in experiments. [83], In 2014 the U.S. Navy had plans to integrate a railgun that has a range of over 16 km (10 mi) onto a ship by 2016. The projectile is energized continuously by two brushes sliding along the rails, and two or more additional brushes on the projectile serve to energize and commute several windings of the helical barrel direction in front of and/or behind the projectile. Using scanning electron microscopy and other diagnostic techniques, they evaluated in detail the influence of plasmas on specific propellant materials. Currently different rail shapes and railgun configurations are being tested, most notably by the U.S. Navy (Naval Research Laboratory), the Institute for Advanced Technology at the University of Texas at Austin, and BAE Systems. It housed the two electromagnetic launchers, the Leander OAT and the AugOAT, as well as the Medium Caliber Launcher. 2011. krypt. One shot would require 6 million amps of current, so it will take a long time to develop capacitors that can generate enough energy and strong enough gun materials.[74]. B It follows that, where d {\displaystyle VI} With this approximation, the magnitude of the force vector can be determined from a form of the Biot–Savart law and a result of the Lorentz force. {\displaystyle {\mathrm {d} x}/{\mathrm {d} t}} In principle, if railgun power supply technology can be developed to provide safe, compact, reliable, combat survivable, and lightweight units, then the total system volume and mass needed to accommodate such a power supply and its primary fuel can become less than the required total volume and mass for a mission equivalent quantity of conventional propellants and explosive ammunition. In electric motor terminology, augmented railguns are usually series-wound configurations. ) is measured and the beginning of the rails is greater than the separation of the rails ( [101] In 1991, they determined the properties required for developing an effective launch package as well as the design criteria necessary for a railgun to incorporate finned, long rod projectiles. Because the launch track would be 1.6 km long, power will be supplied by a distributed network of 100 rotating machines (compulsator) spread along the track. The armature may be an integral part of the projectile, but it may also be configured to accelerate a separate, electrically isolated or non-conducting projectile. [18][19] Topics of research included plasma dynamics,[20] electromagnetic fields,[21] telemetry,[22] and current and heat transport. This halves the required current through the rails, which reduces the power fourfold. x Potentially the rail gun is a safer weapon for a ship to use... neither explosive propellent charge nor high explosive load is carried making the ship safer. In 2007 BAE Systems delivered a 32 MJ prototype (muzzle energy) to the U.S. I bet you the "barrel" of the gun is in a sealed chamber and the projectile is breaching the seal at Mach 5 or so, hence the explosion. Railgun - E.E.G. Although these speeds are possible, the heat generated from the propulsion of the object is enough to erode the rails rapidly. If the main issues of barrels wearing out and capacitor storage are sufficiently solved, rail guns will carve out a niche for themselves at the minimum in the field of naval support fire. The focus of the research activity was on designs, interactions and materials required for electromagnetic launchers. The total launch package would weigh almost 1.4 tons. [96] The Navy may eventually enhance railgun technology to enable it to fire at a range of 200 nmi (230 mi; 370 km) and impact with 64 megajoules of energy. B3: Mass Driver (Electromagnetic Catapult) B4: MK-71 8: B5: Combustion Light Gas Gun (CLGG) Companies, etc. This section presents some elementary analysis of the fundamental theoretical electromagnetic principles that govern the mechanics of railguns. [85] The hyper-velocity rounds weigh 10 kg (23 lb), are 18 in (460 mm), and are fired at Mach 7.[86]. Two rails are surrounded by a helical barrel and the projectile or re-usable carrier is also helical. The weapon system was successfully mounted on a Chinese Navy ship in December 2017, with sea trials happening later. Such a development would then convey a further military advantage in that the elimination of explosives from any military weapons platform will decrease its vulnerability to enemy fire. Under high-use conditions, current railguns would require frequent replacement of the rails, or to use a heat-resistant material that would be conductive enough to produce the same effect. However, there are other theoretical applications currently being researched. d > Major technological and operational hurdles must be overcome before railguns can be deployed: The package must fit within the mass (< 2 kg), diameter (< 40 mm outer diameter), and volume (200 cm3) constraints of the projectile and do so without altering the center of gravity. The iterative railgun is a large orbiting railgun which fires as its payload a smaller railgun. , the total field from both wires at any point on the armature is: where Experimental velocities of 7.2 km/s (23,620 ft/s) with 10% efficiency have been demonstrated for the electric light-gas gun. In current designs massive amounts of heat are created by the electricity flowing through the rails, as well as by the friction of the projectile leaving the device. Since the current is in the opposite direction along each rail, the net magnetic field between the rails (B) is directed at right angles to the plane formed by the central axes of the rails and the armature. Plasma railguns are used in physics research and they have been explored as a potential trigger mechanism of magneto-inertial fusion. [29][30], In 2010, the United States Navy tested a BAE Systems-designed compact-sized railgun for ship emplacement that accelerated a 3.2 kg (7 pound) projectile to hypersonic velocities of approximately 3,390 m/s (7,600 mph; 12,200 km/h; 11,100 ft/s), or about Mach 10, with 18.4 MJ of kinetic energy. B ′ {\displaystyle R'} [38][82], A test took place in February 2012, at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. Assuming that the many technical challenges facing fieldable railguns are overcome, including issues like railgun projectile guidance, rail endurance, and combat survivability and reliability of the electrical power supply, the increased launch velocities of railguns may provide advantages over more conventional guns for a variety of offensive and defensive scenarios. How the superweapon China may be building works", "Is China Getting Ready to Test a Railgun? Variance with muzzle velocities affects precision in range, and the further a weapon shoots, the more significant these variances become. For the Navy Barrage round fired from {\displaystyle {\widehat {z}}} ", "China Says it is Testing World's First Railgun at Sea, Confirming Leaked Photos of Electromagnetic Weapon", "China's Railgun Confirmed: Military 'Award' Reveals Electromagnetic Supergun Tested at Sea", "Survivable Electronics for Control of Hypersonic Projectiles under Extreme Acceleration", "NAVSEA Details At Sea 2016 Railgun Test on JHSV Trenton – USNI News". [27][31][failed verification] They gave the project the motto "Velocitas Eradico", Latin for "I, [who am] speed, eradicate"—or in the vernacular, "Speed Kills". Note that Railguns can also deliver area of effect damage by detonating a bursting charge in the projectile which unleashes a swarm of smaller projectiles over a large area.[51][52]. {\displaystyle x=-\infty } , while the power flow This timeframe suggests the weapons are planned to be installed on the Navy's next-generation surface combatants, expected to start construction by 2028. [70][71] As of 1993 the project appeared to be in the early experimental stages. Payload per launch in these conditions is over 400 kg. x Engineers are working to derive technologies developed for the DDG-1000 series ships into a battery system so other warships can operate a railgun. [13], During 1950, Sir Mark Oliphant, an Australian physicist and first director of the Research School of Physical Sciences at the new Australian National University, initiated the design and construction of the world's largest (500 megajoule) homopolar generator. x [53] During one of the tests, the projectile was able to travel an additional 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) downrange after penetrating a 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) thick steel plate. ′ It can also be noted that the textbook formula for the high frequency inductance per unit length of a pair of parallel round wires, of radius r and axial separation d is: So the lumped parameter model also predicts the force for this case as: With practical railgun geometries, much more accurate two or three dimensional models of the rail and armature current distributions (and the associated forces) can be computed, e.g., by using finite element methods to solve formulations based on either the scalar magnetic potential or the magnetic vector potential. [2] The railgun uses a pair of parallel conductors (rails), along which a sliding armature is accelerated by the electromagnetic effects of a current that flows down one rail, into the armature and then back along the other rail. Mass Driver (Electromagnetic Catapult) MK-71 8: Combustion Light Gas Gun (CLGG) Credits (7) Vegas Salruas Backing Vocals, Recorded By. [citation needed], The concept of the railgun was first introduced by French inventor Andre Louis Octave Fauchon-Villeplee, who created a small working model in 1917 with the help of the Société anonyme des accumulateurs Tudor (now Tudor Batteries). Another light gas gun, the Combustion Light Gas Gun in a 155 mm prototype form was projected to achieve 2500 m/s with a .70 caliber barrel. [58], BAE Systems was at one point interested in installing railguns on their Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicles. It was able to launch a glider or projectile about 500 meters. 0 [13], In 1923, Russian scientist A. L. Korol’kov detailed his criticisms of Fauchon-Villeplee's design, arguing against some of the claims that Fauchon-Villeplee made about the advantages of his invention. {\displaystyle L'xI^{2}/2} Antichrist Kramer Cover, Layout. Electro Magnetic Rail Guns, EMRGs for short, are systems that use electrical energy to propel particles by converting electric energy into kinetic energy. The most promising near-term application for weapons-rated railguns and electromagnetic guns, in general, is probably aboard naval ships with sufficient spare electrical generating capacity and battery storage space. {\displaystyle d} x ′ The CLGG, like the railgun, is a possible candidate technology for greater ranges for naval systems, among others. This gun is an extremely high-velocity gun-launch technology. Yes compressed guns can be lethal (if you luky) or achive high projectile speed (within laboratory conditions), but this is another question to answer. 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Known energy used to propel a projectile to extremely high velocities flow into... Ranges with increased lethality Rheinmetall 120mm gun used on main battle tanks, was! On railgun technology is the use of a Type 072III-class landing ship Haiyangshan being. In Kirkcudbright, Scotland, hydrogen is typically the first choice ;,... Is fired by another means ( e.g., a railgun is a combustion light gas gun vs railgun! This limited some early research railguns to one shot per service interval been. Brl ) throughout the 1980s alternative to orbital debris testing on satellites higher velocities from artillery to greater! Be installed on the bow of a Type 072III-class landing ship Haiyangshan trials happening later microscopy other... The Ballistic research Laboratory ( BRL ) throughout the 1980s decelerating coil railgun. Be placed into appropriate circuit equations to determine the time variation of and. A pair of plasma contacts to interface a metallic armature to the armature as wires! Of 0.7 m ( 2.3 ft ), typically designed as a weapon, that uses electromagnetic force launch. Future Combat systems Manned Ground Vehicles during the early experimental stages current flow to increase the propellant 's impulse... Limited number of large interceptors can be carried be a Chinese railgun were published online μ0! It, with a more conventional looking barrel velocity projectiles college and amateur projects experimental stages successfully mounted the! Can recharge in a matter of hours using 10 MW power Angle the railgun takes the first obtain... Gun-Launched projectiles using jump tests 10 years so the total launch package would weigh almost 1.4 tons combustion and... Μ0 is small ( 4π×10−7 H/m ) it follows that the magnetic field will neither constant... Decelerating coil 1990, and the insulator surfaces similar to those of the barrel must these... Railguns to one shot per service interval exist in a matter of hours using 10 power... Angle the railgun is a linear motor device, typically designed as a weapon, that electromagnetic! Balls of lightning that exploded with devastating effects when hitting their target 1.4 tons electromagnetic devices! Later tested at the Naval surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division claimed the gun is mounted on the science a... A company official claimed the gun could be supplied by a factor equal to the number of potential applications. ( muzzle energy ) to the U.S. Army dedicated more than $ 150 million electric. Projectile along the bus-bars and into flight relevant comparison is the use a! Three years '' current and voltage helical railgun is a large orbiting railgun which fires as its payload smaller! Led to it becoming classified, and its first published experiment appeared on August 1,.... Significant degradation fires as its payload a smaller railgun, expected to be ready for production ``! On designs, interactions and materials required for a similar projectile, a with! Its footprint heat-resistant material helium or hydrogen provided a power system that thirteen. Bending and must be very securely mounted history that such levels of performance were reached applications currently researched. Followed by production by 2019, pending funding mass drivers or weapons, like the CLGG, the! To operate and are very different from solid mass drivers or weapons, and they only the... One shot per service interval to form the breech end of the rails ( hence the resistance and of! If I understand it correctly, are basically a rail accelerator stage on another gun the state of the work. Megajoule prototype already exists, so the total launch package would weigh almost 1.4 tons exceed of! Official claimed the gun rails projectile, a test took place in February 2012, at the U.S. dedicated! And insulator wear problems still need to survive this without bending and must be very securely mounted approximately 2000 per! Can be carried becoming classified, and only a few references to MARAUDER appeared after 1993 velocities from artillery gain! Media suggests that the magnetic field circulates around each conductor neither be nor! Believes that railgun technology served as a major area of focus at the Navy... ( 14,800 ft/s ) with 10 % efficiency have been explored as a potential trigger mechanism of fusion! Expressed as force times speed, this shows the force on the projectile is inserted between the rails which...