Effect of pulse current waveform on sliding performance of solid armatures

By the waveform modulation with the pulse form network (PFN) of a small experimental pulsed power system, the saw-tooth waveform, convex-topped waveform and flat-topped waveform are gotten, and the three kinds of pulse current waveforms are used for the sliding experiment of the solid armature of the electromagnetic rail driving system (EMRDS). By measuring the ultimate muzzle velocity of the experimental armature, the effects of different pulse current waveforms on the sliding performance of the solid armature are compared. The experimental results show that under low charging and discharging energy the abruptly changed saw-tooth waveform is easy to cause contact fail, and often makes the ablation phenomenon happen, so it is unfavorable to the sliding performance of solid armatures; under the same charging and discharging energy, the measured muzzle velocity under the convex-topped waveform pulse is higher than that under the flat-topped one, which means the efficiency of the former is higher than that of the latter; the flat-topped waveform can bear higher charging and discharging energy than the convex-topped one, and its ultimate muzzle velocity is also higher; among the three kinds of waveforms, the flat-topped waveform is the most propitious to the sliding performance of solid armatures because it can provide good contact of the solid armature and rail.