EROSION RESISTANT CERAMIC COMPOSITE CONDUCTIVE RAIL

HYPERVELOCITY LAUNCHER SYSTEMS PLACE SEVERE DEMANDS ON BOTH THE INSULATOR AND CONDUCTIVE RAILS. RECENTLY A WHISKER REINFORCED ALUMINA INSULATOR RAIL SHOWED SUPERIOR EROSION PERFORMANCE IN RAIL GUN TEST, HOWEVER, THE CONDUCTIVE COPPER RAILS ERODED SEVERELY AS WELL AS CREATE AN ANTICIPATED EXPANSION PROBLEM IN FULL SCALE SYSTEMS. IT IS ANTICIPATED A CONDUCTIVE CERAMIC, TIB(2), COMPOSITE CAN PERFORM SIMILARLY TO THE INSULATOR RAIL WHICH WOULD RESULT IN A LOW EXPANSION COMPOSITE CONDUCTIVE RAIL WITH NO EROSION. THE TIB(2) COMPOSITE WILL BE OPTIMIZED WITHOUT AND WITH A CONDUCTIVE NIOBIUM METAL LAYER. THE OPTIMIZED COMPOSITES WILL BE FABRICATED INTO CONDUCTIVE RAILS FOR TEST AT EGLIN AFB A15 TEST SITE FOLLOWED BY A POST MORTUM ANALYSIS OF THE COMPOSITE AFTER TESTING. A LOW EXPANSION EROSION RESISTANT CONDUCTIVE AND INSULATOR RAIL WILL RESULT IN A SYSTEM THAT CAN BE MULTIPLE FIRED.