Electromagnetic launcher system design

The aim of this study was to develop a coil-based electromagnetic launcher system and, additionally, to design a velocity circuit to measure the projectile's exit speed. Nowadays, electromagnetic launcher systems continue to develop through research within the defense industry. Among the advantages of electromagnetic launchers compared to gunpowder-based systems are high energy, ease of use, and significantly reduced recoil, making these systems attractive. Many engineering fields and topics were utilized in the construction of the project, with the most commonly used being the Lorentz force and the Biot–Savart law. The first part of the project is the electromagnetic launcher, and the second part is the projectile exit velocity measurement circuit. In the first part, after the capacitors are charged with a LiPo battery, a high current is generated using a thyristor, which passes through the coil to create a strong electromagnetic field, thus initiating the launch process. In the second part, in the design made for velocity measurement after the bullet leaves the barrel, the data received from 2 inductive sensors is used in the code written to the microcontroller to measure the bullet's exit velocity from the barrel. In the project, measurements were conducted with both different types of projectiles and various voltage levels. These voltage levels ranged between 50V and 350V. Based on these variables, it was determined that the system is capable of launching at different speeds. For the platforms of both the electromagnetic launcher and the projectile velocity measurement circuit, 3D drawings were made using Autodesk Fusion 360, and a 3D printer was utilized.