Computational Analysis

Experimental Techniques

Innovation and Experience
 
Background
 

The electric launcher utilizes a high-power discharge which creates a plasma that is then injected and/or mixed with another medium. Under consideration is a fluid, which can be completely endothermic, such as water, or mildly exothermic, such as methanol. The fluid selection is a matter of balancing the energy storage requirements with the sensitivity of the fluid. The resultant plasma-fluid mixture serves as the propulsive media and accelerates the projectile.

Hybrid, Liquid-Electric Variable Velocity Gun

In 2011, Tezlatec developed under IR&D an interior ballistics code that captures the physics of electrical energy deposited in a gas launcher. This code is based on a simple, yet accurate closed-form interior ballistic representation of the constant pressure solution. The model uses the equations of energy, Newton’s law, and the mass burning rate. Additionally, radiative heat transfer is included to calculate the temperature of the working media inside the breech.

Recent tests for work performed under a TRI/Austin contract provide critical dimensional data and accurate measurements of pressure and velocity. The interior ballistics code provides performance predictions that are in good agreement with experimental results for electrothermal-chemical launchers spanning bore diameters of 9–105 mm, velocities of 500–2400 m/s and includes options for water, ethanol and methanol hybridization media. A capacitor bank provides the electrical energy delivered to the breech.

This material is based upon work supported by the United States Army under Contract Nos. W9113M-11-C-0053 and W9113M-12-C-0027. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of TezlaTec, LLC and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Army.