Temporal and Spatiotemporal Evolution Distribution Characteristics of Friction and Wear of Electromagnetic Launcher

Abstract

During the launching of electromagnetic railguns, the friction and wear of the armature and rails under the extreme force-electromagnetic–temperature coupling cannot be avoided, which has become a serious obstacle restricting the service life and launching accuracy of electromagnetic railguns. To explore the time and space distribution characteristics of rail friction and wear, an electromagnetic launcher model considering the interference fit of the armature-rail is established, and the wear calculation considering the effect of material temperature is carried out on the basis of the electromagnetic field analysis. The calculation of friction heat considers the contact pressure generated by the combined action of the interference fit and the Lorentz force. The results show that the wear volume of the steel-copper armature rail is significantly lower than that of the copper-aluminum armature rail, and there is no significant difference in the spatial distribution. After the pulse current is transformed into a trapezoidal current waveform, the wear volume of the armature rail can not only be reduced but also the acceleration efficiency of the armature can be significantly improved.