A DYNAMIC CHARGING SYSTEM FOR THE RAM ACCELERATOR FOR HYPERVELOCITY APPLICATIONS

THE RAM ACCELERATOR IS A NEW CHEMICAL METHOD FOR ACHIEVING ULTRAHIGH PROJECTILE LAUNCH VELOCITIES. INITIAL DEVELOPMENT WORK PERFORMED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON HAS SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVED FINAL PROJECTILE VELOCITIES IN EXCESS OF 2.0 KM/S WHEN APPLYING THE ACCELERATOR CONCEPT, BASED ON RAMJET PRINCIPLES, TO A PROJECTILE WITH AN INITIAL VELOCITY OF ABOUT 1.0 KM/S. WORK TO DATE HAS INCORPORATED AN ACCELERATOR TUBE CHARGED TO A SPECIFIED PRESSURE WITH A COMBUSTIBLE GAS MIXTURE. THE TUBE IS SEALED WITH A DIAPHRAGM AT EITHER END WHICH IS RUPTURED BY THE PROJECTILE AS IT PASSES THROUGH THE TUBE. THIS TEST CONFIGURATION IS USEFUL FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT TESTING UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS AND FOR EVENTUAL SINGLE-SHOT APPLICATIONS. TO SATISFY RAPID-FIRE REQUIREMENTS, A METHOD MUST BE DEVISED TO RAPIDLY FILL THE ACCELERATOR TUBE IN A WAY THAT ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR DIAPHRAGMS. THE PROPOSED CHARGING CONCEPT COMBINES GAS FLOW SYSTEMS AND UNSTEADY GASDYNAMICS TO PERMIT THE TUBE TO BE CHARGED WITH THE COMBUSTIBLE GASES AT THE DESIRED PRESSURE AND FAVORABLE FLOW CONDITIONS. THIS PROPOSAL CONTAINS A DESCRIPTION OF THE DYNAMIC CHARGING CONCEPT AND A PHASE I PLAN TO DESIGN, EVALUATE AND DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS CONCEPT.