State of the Art in Reluctance Coilgun-Type Electromagnetic Launchers: A Review

Hiren M. Patel and Jagrut J. Gadit

International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology, 2026, vol. 13, issue 2, 470-484

Abstract: Reluctance coilgun-type electromagnetic launchers are pulsed electromechanical systems that accelerate ferromagnetic projectiles by exploiting the tendency of magnetic circuits to minimize reluctance. Compared with railguns and induction coilguns, these launchers offer significant advantages such as structural simplicity, elimination of sliding electrical contacts, reduced mechanical wear, and ease of multistage modular implementation. These characteristics make them attractive for applications in laboratory-scale launch systems, industrial actuation, sports launchers, and educational platforms. Despite these benefits, practical deployment remains constrained by inherently low energy-conversion efficiency, switching losses, magnetic saturation, residual-current-induced reverse forces (suck-back), and high sensitivity to stage timing. Moreover, the strong coupling between electrical, magnetic, thermal, and mechanical subsystems further complicates performance optimization. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the operating principles, architectural configurations, and recent technological advancements in reluctance-coilgun-type electromagnetic launchers. Key focus areas include stage topology, discharge circuit design, timing and control strategies, armature optimization, energy-transfer efficiency, sensorless estimation techniques, and system-level scaling. Recent studies demonstrate that multistage systems can achieve projectile velocities of up to 130 m/s, driven by advanced discharge circuits, optimized switching strategies, and enhanced armature designs. However, when compared to railgun and advanced induction-launcher technologies, reluctance coilguns still face significant challenges in efficiency, repeatability, and scalability. Future research directions are expected to focus on integrated coil–pulse power co-design, residual energy recovery, model-based and AI-assisted control strategies, advanced magnetic materials, and application-specific system optimization.

Keywords: Electromagnetic launcher; reluctance coilgun; multistage acceleration; pulsed power systems; magnetic reluctance; projectile dynamics; energy efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ijsrst.com/home/article/view/IJSRST26133105 Abstract page (text/html)
https://ijsrst.com/home/article/download/IJSRST26133105/IJSRST26133105 Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:etm:ijsrst:v13:y2026:i2:id:1472

DOI: 10.32628/IJSRST26133105

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology from Technoscience Academy
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Pankaj Sharma ().