Thermal control of railgun armatures

The present approach for thermal management in metallic railgun armatures relies on using the thermal capacity of the armature material to limit the adiabatic temperature rise during launch. In this, the armature is designed so that, as the accelerating current passes through it, the armature heats up to a maximum temperature that is close to the melting point of the armature material. Careful attention to design has to be exercised in regard to local inhomogeneities where current concentrations and associated temperature excursions may occur. Alternatives to this approach are discussed in this paper. These include the possibilities of conductive gaseous cooling and utilization of the latent heat of evaporation of materials contained within the armature. Further work on these concepts is recommended.