PULSED COILGUN LIMITS

The design of coilguns is commonly based on a 'try and see' basis usin g an analytical model to ascertain its performance. This paper examine s the use of formal optimisation techniques to explore the performance limitations of pulsed coilgun technology. The optimisation procedure is constrained by the material, mechanical and thermal properties and seeks to determine the coil geometry that achieves the maximum velocit y for a given payload. The paper illustrates the maximum velocity achi evable for several different payloads as a function of the coilgun len gth and bore diameter.