Design optimization of synchronous induction coil electromagnetic launcher based on genetic algorithm

Muzzle velocity and system efficiency are two of the most important characteristics for synchronous induction coil electromagnetic launchers (SICEMLs), which could be affected by the structural parameters of the driving coil and the armature, the number of coil turns, and the initial position of the armature. To obtain the optimal parameters, genetic algorithm was introduced into the design process of a single stage SICEML in this paper. The optimization was derived based on the performance index defined as the product of the muzzle velocity and the system efficiency and the results were validated through the simulation by the finite element software Ansoft. The research results show that the system performance has improved effectively under the same storage power supply and total volume of the launcher: the system efficiency was increased from 5.38% to 13.6% and the muzzle velocity was increased from 38 m/s to 61 m/s. A single SICEML prototype was tested in blocked state and the test results show a good agreement with the simulation.