Pulsed-Current Distribution in Electromagnetic Rail Launchers

This article deals with the measurement of current distribution through the rail cross section of an electromagnetic rail launcher. A measurement approach based on a loop system magnetically coupled to the launcher that is placed along the rails is proposed. The estimation of the current distribution in the rail, following the basic rules of the partial-inductance method, is discussed in this article. To test the proposed method, an experimental analysis on an "ad-hoc"-developed multiconductor rail prototype supplied by a high-voltage capacitor bank is presented. The experimental results obtained by the proposed method were compared with the direct-current measurements achieved by a set of Rogowski coils showing good agreement for different current values.