3D Simulation of Armature Motion in Electromagnetic Rail Launchers Using Finite Element Method

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Faculty of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Malek Ashtar University of Technology

Abstract

In the vast majority of previous research on electromagnetic rail launchers, either the two-dimensional analysis have been performed by finite element simulation, or in the case of three-dimensional study, armature and projectile motion have not been considered simultaneously. Due to the importance of the subject and the need to carefully study the behavior of this type of electromagnetic launchers, in this paper, simulations and analysis are performed in a completely three-dimensional manner, taking into account the armature motion. In this paper, two solid armature electromagnetic rail launchers, which have different geometry and dimensions, are simulated and analyzed in a completely three-dimensional manner, taking into account the armature motion, and compared in terms of different physical quantities. The main quantities in electromagnetic rail launchers include electric current density distribution, magnetic flux density distribution, inductance gradient, force and pressure on armature and rails, muzzle velocity and heat distribution, which are also changed by changing the geometry of the armature. In simulations, the powerful COMSOL Multiphysics software is utilized, which has the ability to solve the problems involved with several different physical phenomena, using the finite element analysis (FEM) method. Finally, according to the results of the simulations, the necessary analysis and comparisons have been made and the relative superiority of each of the structures under study in terms of the above quantities is presented.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 17 July 2021
  • Revise Date: 21 February 2022
  • Accept Date: 06 July 2022
  • Publish Date: 23 October 2022

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