Armature Structure Research of an Electromagnetic Reconnection Launcher

The armature of the electromagnetic reconnection launcher (EMRCL) plays a key role in accelerating large-mass loads, which have attracted extensive attention in past years. In this article, the effects of the armature thickness, length, and width on the performance of the EMRCL are analyzed for designing a high-strength and high-efficiency armature. First, according to the deformation and Von Mises’ stress distribution of the armature in the electromagnetic structure field, the armature thickness should be six times the skin depth. Then, the orthogonal experiment method results demonstrate that the armature speed tends to a saturated value with increasing length and width. Finally, a three-stage EMRCL platform with a load of 10 kg was constructed to verify the accuracy of the simulation results of three armatures with different lengths and widths. The experimental results show that the speed of 80
$\times120$
mm
²
armature can reach 11.26 m/s, which is a significant increase of 23 times than the 40
$\times120$
mm
²
armature and is consistent with the simulation results. It indicates that the optimal armature length is 1.2 times the coil length, and the optimal width is 1.3 times the coil width. This research provides a valuable reference for the armature design of EMRCL.