The article describes the construction and simplified analysis of a small-scale Coilgun prototype – electromagnetic weapon that launches a metallic slug whose operation is similar to linear electric motors, also seen in magnetic locks. The design can be constructed with low cost and easily available components, though it involves sophisticated electromagnetism concepts. The system can be employed to Laboratory experiments on Physics as well as on Engineering, to address Electromagnetic Conversion of Energy, namely linear electric motors and actuators. The article discusses circuit models, the electromagnetic force on the slug and also field plots generated from a commercial simulator. The used instrumentation for velocity measurement is also presented, alongside with measured data.
Keywords:
Applied Electromagnetics; electronic instrumentation
