Numerical modeling of electromagnetic railgun rail temperature field

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Wang, Zhi-Heng^* | Wan, Min | Li, Xiao-Jiang

Affiliations: Academy of Equipment, Huairou, Beijing, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Zhi-Heng Wang, Academy of Equipment, Huairou, Beijing 101416, China. Tel.: +86 010 66364794; E-mail:1301110741@pku.edu.cn

Abstract: Electromagnetic railgun temperature field characteristics are important basis for rail design and thermal management. This paper carries out numerical modeling of electromagnetic railgun rail temperature field and studies the temperature field characteristics during and after launch of armature. Firstly, the thermodynamics environment of rails during and after armature launch is analyzed; Then, on the basis of rail conducting contact heat model and rail 3D finite element model we have built, the rail temperature field is simulated by finite element software ANSYS. The temperature field of rail at each moment is obtained. The research results show that: The maximal temperature rise of rail is near the armature initial position; the rail temperature rise gradually decreases from the armature initial position to the muzzle; under the condition of parameters setting in this paper, the temperature rise of each shot near the armature initial position is approximately 8.945°C.

Keywords: Electromagnetic railgun, Finite Element Method (FEM), rails, sliding electrical contact, contact heat, temperature field

DOI: 10.3233/JAE-150174

Journal: International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics, vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 173-183, 2016