DESIGN, FABRICATION, INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL OF ELECTROMAGNETIC PROPULSION DEVICE

Abstract

This thesis presents the design, fabrication, instrumentation, and control of an electromagnetic propulsion device in the form of a railgun. The electromagnetic propulsion device is designed to achieve a muzzle velocity of 100 m/s. The device is primarily composed of two parallel rails, a projectile, a power supply, and an injector system. The projectile is accelerated along the rails via the Lorentz force resulting from the interaction between the magnetic field generated by the rails and the electric current passing through the projectile. The fabrication of the railgun involved the use of highgrade materials, including copper and aluminum, to ensure optimal performance and durability. To ensure accurate measurement of the device performance, instrumentation was implemented to measure the speed of the projectile. Two different models are designed and manufactured. Maximum 70 m/s muzzle velocity is attained. The efficiency is low, and the target muzzle velocity is not achieved due to the low time constant of capacitor bank. The time constant has to be increased in such a way that it ensures the efficient energy transfer and at the same time guarantees maximum current input to device.