Design and Development of a Four-Stage Induction Coilgun

This article centers on the successful design and development of a four-stage electromagnetic (EM) launcher using an induction coilgun. The project took place at the pulsed power laboratory within the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. The primary objective of the authors’ research is to comprehend the factors that contribute to achieving higher muzzle velocities for projectiles of varying masses while launching them with the coilgun. The paper presents an examination of muzzle velocities attained by projectiles of different dimensions and metals with distinct EM properties, viz. copper (Cu: diamagnetic), aluminum (Al: paramagnetic), stainless steel (SS: paramagnetic), and mild steel (MS: ferromagnetic). This paper shows Al as the most suitable metal for the projectile manufacturing. Additionally, the authors introduce an empirical correlation between the muzzle velocity of the coilgun-launched projectile and the capacitor bank’s charging voltage. This relationship, formulated by the authors for the first time, is also outlined in the paper.