Effects of Supply Current and Armature Structure on Melting Characteristics of Armature Surface in Sliding Electric Contact

In the process of electromagnetic launch, the melting on the armature surface tends to change the state of the armature/rail (AR) contact. Once the contact state is damaged, transition will appear easily. For this reason, it is necessary to analyze the factors affecting the melting characteristics of the armature surface. According to the Reynolds equation listed for the liquid metal film (LMF) on the AR contact interface, and by coupling the temperature, stress, and electromagnetic fields, this paper presents a thermoelastic magnetohydrodynamic model, which is used to analyze effects of the current waveform, and the length and angle of the armature tail on the surface melting rate and LMF thickness. The results show that for the same armature, if we want to achieve the same velocity within the same time range, the smoother the current waveform, the slower the surface melting rate and the thinner the minimum LMF thickness, and that for armatures of different key dimensions, in a certain range, the longer the armature tail, the slower the surface melting rate, but the larger the total melting amount and the thicker the minimum LMF thickness, and that the angle of armature tail has little effect on melting characteristics of the armature surface. What has been done in this paper is of great importance to improving the AR contact state and optimizing the performance of the electromagnetic launcher.