Armature formation and performance in a railgun using a two-stage light-gas gun injector

Summary form only. The use of a two-stage light-gas gun (2SLGG) as a preaccelerator in combination with a railgun is expected to reduce barrel ablation significantly and improve overall performance. In particular, the use of a hydrogen 2SLGG provides injection velocities of 6 to 8 km/s and a pure hydrogen environment immediately behind the projectile as it enters a railgun. To continue acceleration of the projectile, a plasma armature must be formed. The authors have explored two methods of converting a portion of the fast-moving hydrogen gas into a plasma armature. In particular, they carried out tests in which armatures were formed and used to further accelerate a projectile.<>