Research Summaries

Back Investigation of Railgun Bore Wear after Prolonged Exposure to a Marine Environment

Fiscal Year 2019
Division Research & Sponsored Programs
Department NPS Naval Research Program
Investigator(s) Larraza, Andres
Sponsor NPS Naval Research Program (Navy)
Summary EM Railgun technology is improving across each of the core components of pulsed power, launcher, and projectile. Specifically, within the railgun launcher research effort, bore life improvements have been demonstrated at full energy (32MJ) in a controlled, laboratory environment. For the Navy, a relevant environment includes saltwater and humidity (for systems that are installed topside).

The Navy Railgun program would benefit from knowledge of any Railgun performance changes after exposure to a marine environment, in contrast to the typical laboratory conditions in which most railgun testing is conducted. NPS will perform research, in collaboration with other organizations associated with the national EM Railgun team, to determine the bore life response of railgun conductors after varying levels of marine corrosion.

This knowledge will be helpful in determining the preventative maintenance plan for railgun bores at sea and may influence the design of any Engineering Development Models that would be produced under an acquisition program. These results could also influence future research efforts that seek to identify alternative materials for improved corrosion resistance while maintaining performance under the extreme operating conditions of railgun launch. The NPS Electric Weapons research group has recently established the largest railgun experimental facility of any US academic institution. This facility includes an 8 mega-joule pulsed power supply and a medium caliber railgun capable of hypersonic launch (Mach 5+). This will be the testbed for bore life and armature experiments using rails that have been exposed to a marine environment

NPS will document the results of the investigation of railgun bore life and armature performance changes of corroded rails compared to a baseline set of rails. With collaborators at NRL, Sandia, and NSWC Dahlgren, NPS will generate a report on the conclusions and recommendations.
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