Application of Railgun Principle to High-Velocity Hydrogen Pellet Injection for Magnetic Fusion Reactor Refueling^a

Design, construction, testing, and performance evaluation of a small-bore plasma-arc-driven electromagnetic railgun system are described. The railgun system, which is intended for injecting high-velocity hydrogen pellets into the magnetic fusion devices for the purpose of refueling, has two acceleration stages. One consists of a gas gun preaccelerator and the other a railgun booster accelerator. The plasma-arc armature is formed behind the pellet by electrically discharging the propellant gas following the pellet into the railgun from the gas gun.