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In the launch process of the multistage synchronous induction electromagnetic launcher (SIEL), the armature is usually accelerated step by step. Due to the impact of high instantaneous electromagnetic force and large acceleration fluctuation, some kinds of sensitive loads may be damaged during the launching process. To reduce the harm that caused by the abovementioned issue, this article proposes an optimized armature and an asynchronous pulse discharge scheme to smooth the acceleration curve based on the toroidal reconnected electromagnetic launcher (TREL). First, a mathematical coupling model of the single-stage TREL is built to describe the energy conversion relationship between the driving coils and the armature. Then, the dynamics characteristics of the TREL model based on two armature structures and two discharge schemes are analyzed through the finite-element method. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate that the large acceleration fluctuation of the armature can be effectively cut down with the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the energy loss issue of the synchronous induction electromagnetic launcher (SIEL) subjected to the traditional driving circuit, a high temperature superconducting magnet (HTSM)-based energy recovery system is proposed in this article to improve the energy management capability for the SIEL. This energy recovery system is composed of half-wave circuit, HTSM, dc chopper, and three-phase full-bridge inverter. If there is a demand to execute the mission of short-term continuous shooting, the HTSM can convert the reverse energy stored in capacitors into forward energy in preparation for the next shot. If the launch mission has ended and no demand of launch again, the dc chopper and the three-phase full-bridge inverter are used to pump the remaining energy back into the grid. Then, a mathematical model of the energy recovery system is established to verify the effectiveness of the above mentioned schemes. The simulation results show that not only does the energy recovery system can realize the reuse of remaining energy in the continuous shooting mission, but also it can complete the unidirectional energy transfer with the grid in unit power factor. Finally, based on the three-coil reconnection electromagnetic launcher (TCREL), a small test platform is built. The transfer process of the remaining energy from the capacitors to the HTSM and the working performance of the dc chopper are mainly tested in here. The experimental results basically verify the effectiveness of the energy recovery system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving energy conversion efficiency (ECE) is of vital importance for the synchronous induction electromagnetic launcher (SIEL). For the launch process that the mass of payload is constant, there are many methods about the structural optimization of SIEL have been proposed to maximize the ECE. However, one optimized SIEL may be difficult to achieve same excellent launch effect when launching payloads of different masses. To realize the different launch purposes based on one SIEL device, this paper proposes a reconfigurable reconnection electromagnetic launcher (RREL) to effectively adjust the ECEs of payloads with different masses, the operable characteristics of RREL are described clearly through an example of a four-stage launcher model. Assume that the peak pulse current of the driving coils is 15 kA and the peak acceleration overload of the payload is 15 k-gees, the ECE characteristics of payload with the mass varing from 1 kg to 9 kg are simulated and analyzed through the finite-element method (FEM). The simulation results show that the payloads with different masses can achieve high ECEs through adjusting the reconfigurable operation states of the drive coil assemblies. For example, to obtain the best ECE of 1 kg payload, the switching states of the driving coil assemblies should be in "0 ∖"; When the mass of payload is 4 kg, the switching states of the driving coil assemblies should be in "0 1"; Similarly, the optimal ECE of the 7 kg payload occurs in the switching states of "1 1". Finally, a small experimental platform is constructed to test. Although there are about 14.7% error exist between the experimental and the simulation results due to the mechanical losses, above technical scheme is feasible and has some reference significance for the development of SIEL design. © 2020 Elsevier Science. All rights reserved. • Reconfigurable operation for synchronous induction electromagnetic launcher is proposed. • The mass of payload would affect the energy conversion efficiency of the launcher. • Reconfigurable operation has adjustable effect on the electrical parameters of the launcher. • Electrical parameter matching improves the energy conversion efficiency of payloads. • Reconfigurable electromagnetic launcher has good flexibility in application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]