Finite Element Analysis of Contact and Structural Phenomena of a Lab-Scale Electromagnetic Accelerator

This work presents a finite element analysis (FEA) of the initial armature-to-rail contact of a lab-scale electromagnetic accelerator (12.5 mm rail height) and a modal analysis of the armature. Structural results of the von Mises stress, the contact pressure, and the contact area are presented with the vibrational characteristics (frequencies and mode shapes) of the un-stressed and the pre-stressed armature.© 2007 ASME