Affiliations: [a] Department of Aerospace Engineering, Pusan National University, Geumjeong-gu, Busan, Republic of Korea
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Jeong Kim, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Pusan National University, 2, Busandaehak-ro 63beon-gil, Geumjeong-gu, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea. Tel.: +82 51 510 2477; Fax: +82 51 513 3760; E-mail: greatkj@pusan.ac.kr
Abstract: An electromagnetic launcher or accelerator is a useful device for obtaining a wide range of payload velocities. Electromagnetic launchers have smaller space requirements compared to compressed air gas launchers and can use easily obtainable grid electricity to provide thrust in place of a conventional propellant. Despite these advantages, it is difficult to measure launcher muzzle velocity, as the flames and light produced by the muzzle during launch make velocity measurement using a light sensor or high-speed camera impossible. To overcome this problem, B-dot probes can be used to track the projectile position within the launcher by sensing changes in the magnetic field, which generate an induced voltage in the probe following Faraday’s law. This paper proposes a B-dot probe based method for measuring an electromagnetic launcher’s muzzle velocity. After determining the sensing effect as the probe positions and orientations through numerical simulation, the B-dot probe was used to measure the muzzle velocity, which was compared to a muzzle velocity obtained using a high-speed camera to validate the proposed method.
Keywords: Electromagnetic launching, voltage measurement, velocity measurement, numerical analysis
