The University of Texas System

Damon A Weeks

William F Weldon

Dennis Roger Peterson

Raymond C Zowarka

John H Gully

Jim L Upshaw

Don A Bresie

Joseph H Beno

Mike L Spann

Andreas M Guenin

The method and apparatus of the present invention provide constant force suspension and near constant force Suspension and associated control algorithms, all of which may be utilized in vehicle suspension systems. By using the apparatus of the present invention, a vehicle may be isolated from the motion of a wheel as it follows rough terrain, thereby improving ride quality.

Constant force suspension, near constant force suspension, and

A railgun operates at high pressure (up to 350 MPa) without structural damage and is readily disassembled for inspection, maintenance and component testing. A rail assembly is pressed into a hoop-wound epoxy fiberglass containment tube and clamped within a steel compression frame. The geometry of the rail assembly permits rail movement without insulator intrusion and achieves bore sealing during rail movement at maximum pressure. The rail assembly also has replaceable insulator inserts which are isolated from rail re-bound shock. Fused quartz insulator inserts provide the best results. A flash tube is provided at the gun muzzle to suppress precursor discharge and commutate precursor current back to the armature. To realize increased velocity without sacrificing in-bore projectile stability, a cut-corner projectile is used having a L/D ratio as small as 0.65 which reduces the mass by about 11%.

High performance electromagnetic railgun launcher

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Damon A Weeks