Investigation of Rail Deformation and Stress Wave Propagation in the ISL-NGL60 Railgun

Railgun performance requires a low-resistance electric gliding contact between the rails and the armature. The electromagnetic forces, which accelerate the launch package (0.7 to 3 kg mass) up to more than 2000 m/s, are acting on the rails as repulsive forces. Therefore, the rails of the NGL60 electromagnetic gun, with caliber 60× 60 mm2, are held in their position by an arrangement of discrete st...