NationStates Jolt Archive

THIS WHOLE THREAD IS OOC!

I was thinking and doing a bit of brainstorming with Huzen Hagen and we discussed methods to stop hordes of incoming aircraft or any other flying threats. Railguns are real and plausible weapons, but share one major weakness; overheating. Yes, you can change rails or let it cool down but effective shooting requires a higher rate of fire. Railguns cannot provide a continuous stream of slugs. When a highly advanced rail, with the most recent technological features fires slugs, it will need time before the minimal temperature of firing is reached. This annoying process repeats itself after, 25(?) shots and then the rail has to be cooled or be replaced. That's a nagging problem as well as changing the rail itself.

I may have a solution to the problem of mainting a high rate of fire for railguns. [Link (http://members.lycos.co.uk/manhattanproject120/schematic.jpg)] This a crude drawing of the system. It looks pretty damn chaotic and it is so let me explain it.

Drawing #1
Two tracks for trainwagons (not regular Asian or European gauge, but each track is 4 meters (13.12 feet) wide with only 1 meter (3.2 feet) between. Since the tracks are mostly a straight like for miles or only relatively low angle bends this doesn't matter for the wagons) drive paralel at all times making the lower wagon the resupply depot while the upper wagon is the railgun itself and underneath a drive chain.

Drawing #2
The above view of the two parallel wagons with on the base of each wagon a drive chain and on the same height of the rail gun in horizontal position (0°). The railgun is placed 1.5 meters (4.92 feet) away from the left side of the wagon where the rail is rolled to the shaft where the rail is being anchored in. Claw systems provide an automatic connection with the already placed powerlines.

Drawing #3
This a '3d' view of the whole process. Step I starts with positioning the rail to 0° and the drive chain (stopped when firing) grabs the rail and takes the rail beneath the railgun in the wagon (step II). When it's on the floor of the gunwagon the rail taking it to the resupply wagon starts so the new rail will be placed in the gun at this time. Cooled air fills this belly of the gunwagon as well as the resupply wagon letting the rail cool without sudden temperature drops. The drive chain goes outside the gun wagon, crossing 1 meter of open space and entering the resupply wagon. When this is complete the rail is cooled to an acceptable temperature and lines up behind the other rails (15). The new rail follows the same path, but instead of going away from the gun it goes into the shaft and secured. Now the gun can fired at any angle.

Notes:
1) The length of the railgun is 10 meter (32 feet).
2) The dimensions of the wagons or rail aren't set in stone, this is merely a concept.
3) In a Texas university there has been experimenting with railgun projectiles reaching a velocity of 4 Km (2.48 miles) per second. This is a documented fact.
3) If you only come here to bash this idea instead of giving some input or comments or whatever don't bother posting.

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Interesting, but how fast does the rail change happen? Also, why is the train needed?

I would have thought a better cooling method could be found, for example spraying it with liquid oxygen or nitrogen occasionaly? I would have thought that replacing the rail so often would be risky, as a mistake in putting the rail on would mean that the railgun misfires, with catastrophic effects.

Interesting, but how fast does the rail change happen? Also, why is the train needed?

I would have thought a better cooling method could be found, for example spraying it with liquid oxygen or nitrogen occasionaly? I would have thought that replacing the rail so often would be risky, as a mistake in putting the rail on would mean that the railgun misfires, with catastrophic effects.

I proposed that idea but Guff pointed out that you would not achieve even cooling and controll would be much harder. As for the system it would probably work fine so long as the parts were made to a high standard.

Oh and guff the velocity they achieved in texas was 4km/sec i believe

Wow, it seems as though you've put some thought into this. It sounds very plausible to me, it would be interesting to see how well it would work.

(Though, I have to say, you can't draw worth spit. ;-) )

My handwriting is even worse!

Of course IN you can make stationary versions of this gun but I thought the movability of the gun is also an important factor. There will be a team to monitor and watch the automatic process and because on every segment of the drivechain one rail is positioned, the reloading time is minimal, maybe 30 seconds. Computers, human and of course the machine itself check for failures so possible damage to the surrounding operators will be minimal.

ooc: well, it's possible to discharge electrical/heat energy out of the barrel (corkscrew trail anyone?)

Basically *(i use railguns), my railguns are liquid cooled, necessary of course, because of the heat generated. Also, you might want a buffer between the power source and you, otherwise you'll get electrocuted.

Well, if the train was moving while gun was being fired, any slight bump in the rails would cause reloading to go wrong. And you would have that much time to check and stop the firing anyway.

Why no have a hollow core on the rails, with super-cold liquid pumped through?

Good idea about the liquid nitrogen but the sudden shift in temperature is something you shouldn't overlook too fast. The train isn't moving when the gun is fired. Safety issues you know.

There would not be a sudden shift in temperature, as the cold liquid is constantly flowing through it while the gun is firing. If you had several layers of metal, then the rails could be made to be resistant to shattering while presenting a hard outer surface. This is like the samurai sword's design.

Nice... but why use this for anti-air? What's the advantage over a missile other than cost? And you lack the accuracy of a missile with this. It would be much better used as a coastal defence gun, IMO.

By the way, what is this powered by? A nuclear reactor?

Ah, I see. It would be good to combine this with the system of changing the rails. You can cool the rail, but it has to be replaced at one point, there's where my little thing comes into action.

Nice... but why use this for anti-air? What's the advantage over a missile other than cost? And you lack the accuracy of a missile with this. It would be much better used as a coastal defence gun, IMO.

By the way, what is this powered by? A nuclear reactor?We're still working on it. A nuclear reactor would be good, since they're either on rooftops or on a rail, getting sufficient power will be no problem. Since this railgun is a piece of scrap without some classified radar systems I think it's a very effective piece of AA weaponry.

you can have a jacket of liquid coolant around the barrel WWI machinegun style.

That way you can refill the liquid more quickly (got a hose?)

We're still working on it. A nuclear reactor would be good, since they're either on rooftops or on a rail, getting sufficient power will be no problem. Since this railgun is a piece of scrap without some classified radar systems I think it's a very effective piece of AA weaponry.
If you're firing 2 rpm I really dont think it'll be able to deal with any large formation of planes, and I still dont see the advantage over a missile. It's a nice railgun design, but I think it's misapplied.