EMI's TwinGun Concept for a New Light-gas Gun Type Hypervelocity Accelerator

A new two-stage light-gas gun type accelerator was developed at Fraunhofer EMI. The accelerator features two parallel pump tubes that are attached to a single powder chamber. Loading conditions are adjusted to achieve a small delay between the arrival of the two pistons at their respective accelerated reservoir. A merging section combines both gas channels and guides the two pressure pulses generated to a single launch tube breech. The two pressure pulses merge to a single, but elongated pressure pulse that acts on the projectile. Carefully adjusting the loading conditions shall in the future increase the performance compared to standard light-gas gun accelerators. Initial experimental results of the calibre 4 mm prototype show feasibility of the concept.