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Pulsed power supplies for electromagnetic launch have unique requirements, including very low impedance, relatively long pulse discharge times, and high stored energy. The three primary types of pulsed power systems for electromagnetic launch have been capacitive, inductive, and rotating machine. This paper describes recent results in the design, construction, and testing of a pulsed power system based on an inductor that is charged by batteries.

Abstract-Advances in high-power-density batteries have rekindled interest in using inductive store as a pulse compression system. Although these batteries are considered very power dense, they lack over an order of magnitude of power density to drive a deployable electric gun. However, one can add an inductive circuit to a battery bank to make a hybrid system that has a much higher power density than batteries alone. A battery-inductor hybrid pulsed-power supply boasts several advantages over pulsed alternators, as inductors are static and relatively easy to cool. Inductors are potentially more energy dense than capacitors, making a battery-inductor hybrid pulsed-power supply an attractive alternative to capacitor-based pulsed-power supplies. The opening switch has been a major obstacle in previous inductive store projects, but in simulation, a new circuit topology-the Slow TRansfer of Energy Through Capacitive Hybrid (STRETCH) meat grinder-greatly attenuates the problem. This paper discusses the design, construction and testing of a small-scale STRETCH meat grinder system designed which was successfully used to power a miniature railgun.