A projectile for a rectangular barreled rail gun

Abstract

The Physics Department at the Naval Postgraduate School is developing a concept to overcome the problems that keep present rail guns from being practical weapons. The rails must be replaced often if the rail gun operation is to be continuous. Replacing the rails in present rail gun configurations is time consuming. The Physics Department's design concept uses a rectangular barrel as part of the solution to the problem of replacing the rails. The projectile will require flat surfaces to maintain electrical contact with the flat rails and aerodynamic stabilization because of the lack of angular momentum. This thesis develops one possible model of a projectile for a rectangular barreled rail gun, which could be used to replace the standard five-inch gun found on most warships. The proposed projectile is successfully modeled as a five inch projectile with flat areas planed onto opposite sides and long chord, short span fins attached in a cruciform configuration. The computer programs used to develop the projectile model are included to allow evaluation of alternate configurations.