Pancake coil design
Design, Construction, and Testing of an
Inductive Pulsed-Power Supply for a
Small Railgun
A. Sitzman, D. Surls, and J. Mallick
Institute for Advanced Technology, The University of Texas at Austin
Abstract—Advances in high-power-density batteries have rekindled interest in using inductive store as a pulse compression system. Although these batteries are considered very power dense, they lack over an order of magnitude of power density to drive a deployable electric gun. However, one can add an inductive circuit to a battery bank to make a hybrid system that has a much higher power density than batteries alone. A battery-inductor hybrid pulsed-power supply boasts several advantages over pulsed alternators, as inductors are static and relatively easy to cool.
Inductors are potentially more energy dense than capacitors, making a battery-inductor hybrid pulsed-power supply an attractive alternative to capacitor-based pulsed-power supplies.
The opening switch has been a major obstacle in previous inductive store projects, but in simulation, a new circuit topology—the Slow TRansfer of Energy Through Capacitive
Hybrid (STRETCH) meat grinder—greatly attenuates the problem.
This paper discusses the design, construction and testing of a small-scale STRETCH meat grinder system designed which was successfully used to power a miniature railgun.
Keywords: pulsed power, battery, inductor, capacitor, railgun
I.
INTRODUCTION
This paper reports the inspiration, design process, and test results of the inductive pulsed-power supply project. There were two major objectives for this project. The first objective was to demonstrate the Slow TRansfer of Energy Through Capacitive Hybrid
(STRETCH) meat grinder principles [1] with a physical system. The second objective was to use the system to fire the demonstration railgun at the Institute for Advanced
Technology (IAT).
For some time, capacitor-based systems and pulsed alternators have been the focus of
Inductive Pulsed-Power Supply for a
Small Railgun
A. Sitzman, D. Surls, and J. Mallick
Institute for Advanced Technology, The University of Texas at Austin
Abstract—Advances in high-power-density batteries have rekindled interest in using inductive store as a pulse compression system. Although these batteries are considered very power dense, they lack over an order of magnitude of power density to drive a deployable electric gun. However, one can add an inductive circuit to a battery bank to make a hybrid system that has a much higher power density than batteries alone. A battery-inductor hybrid pulsed-power supply boasts several advantages over pulsed alternators, as inductors are static and relatively easy to cool.
Inductors are potentially more energy dense than capacitors, making a battery-inductor hybrid pulsed-power supply an attractive alternative to capacitor-based pulsed-power supplies.
The opening switch has been a major obstacle in previous inductive store projects, but in simulation, a new circuit topology—the Slow TRansfer of Energy Through Capacitive
Hybrid (STRETCH) meat grinder—greatly attenuates the problem.
This paper discusses the design, construction and testing of a small-scale STRETCH meat grinder system designed which was successfully used to power a miniature railgun.
Keywords: pulsed power, battery, inductor, capacitor, railgun
I.
INTRODUCTION
This paper reports the inspiration, design process, and test results of the inductive pulsed-power supply project. There were two major objectives for this project. The first objective was to demonstrate the Slow TRansfer of Energy Through Capacitive Hybrid
(STRETCH) meat grinder principles [1] with a physical system. The second objective was to use the system to fire the demonstration railgun at the Institute for Advanced
Technology (IAT).
For some time, capacitor-based systems and pulsed alternators have been the focus of
References: topology for reducing opening-switch voltage stress,” 13th IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference, June 13–17, 2005, Monterey, California. vol. 37, pp. 375–378, 2001. Dover Publications, 1946.