Document Type

Honors Thesis

Major

Electrical Engineering

Advisor(s)

David Kotecki

Committee Members

Nuri Emanetoglu, Donald Hummels

Graduation Year

May 2024

Publication Date

Spring 5-2024

Abstract

The utilization of Solenoid-Based Accelerators (SBAs) is complicated due to the multitude of interacting variables in the design of the system. Additionally, SBAs also known as coilguns, are typically inefficient and have a peak efficiency of around 22% [1]. Even with the low efficiency, there is much interest in coilgun systems due to their ability to accelerate objects faster than chemical reactions, with speeds reaching 11km/s [1,2]. In addition to the peak speed, there are other advantages such as the reduced contact with the projectile and controllable launch speeds which allow for applications including the launching of nanosatellites [2]. With SBAs there are many design aspects to manage. These include, energy supply, timing control, and force generation. Each of these categories has variables that interact with each other that affect system design and efficiency. This paper is focused on the solenoids that accelerate the payload. This is where energy conversion occurs. In addition to research into prior work on these topics, a MATLAB program was developed to examine solenoid designs. A physical coilgun was fabricated to better understand the key issues in implementing a coilgun system. Experimental results show that correlations exist between the armature, solenoid, initial conditions, power, and system parameters. Furthermore, altering the geometry of the solenoid affects single stage exit velocity. Modification of the solenoid geometry may result in a reduction in efficiency.

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