Patent Grant
7581499
The present invention relates to a cartridge case and ammunition round primarily for electrothermal and/or electrothermochemical weapon systems, which round comprises the said cartridge case.
The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such a cartridge case and an ammunition round primarily for electrothermal and/or electrothermochemical weapon systems, which round comprises the said cartridge case.
The invention also relates to use of the cartridge case and the ammunition round in other more conventional weapon systems than the said electrothermal and/or electrothermochemical weapon systems, but preferably in electrothermal and electrothermochemical weapon systems.
Various different propulsion principles exist today for accelerating projectiles through the barrel of a weapon system. The main division between these principles is based on whether projectile propulsion takes place by means of gas operation, electric operation or via a combination of these, at the same time as the propulsion principle(s) used in turn essentially determine which problems may arise in the different weapon systems.
Gas-operated weapon systems normally mean those systems which utilize the combustion gases which are formed after ignition of the propellant concerned for the shell, which propellant may now be liquid, solid or gaseous, although powder is still usually used. For example, in a conventional weapon, an ammunition round is fired by means of a firing device, normally a fuse, which ignites a propellent charge which, on combustion, develops a propellent gas quantity which is sufficiently powerful and expansive to accelerate the projectile rapidly out through the barrel of the weapon.
Electrically driven weapon systems instead utilize short electric pulses with high voltage and/or high current intensity in order to fire and propel the shell in ammunition adapted especially for electric operation.
In recent years, weapon systems based on combinations of both gas operation and electric operation, such as, for example, cannons which comprise either electrothermal propulsion or electrothermochemical propulsion, what are known as ETC cannons, have become increasingly important. In ETC cannons, use is made of, for example, electrical energy from a high-voltage source in order to bring about the actual ignition of the propellent charge, and then of on the one hand chemical energy from the combustion of this propellent charge and on the other hand electrical energy in the form of one or more pulses in order to supply more energy to the propellent gas in the form of plasma formation from the latter or via the creation of an electric potential difference along the barrel in order to increase the speed of the projectile.
In many hitherto known electrothermochemical weapon systems, the conventional fuse is replaced by a plasma generator. The plasma generator is filled with a preferably metal material which, via the electric pulses, is heated, vaporized and finally partly ionized, a plasma being produced, which, depending on the type of plasma generator, flows out through the front opening of the plasma generator or through a number of openings along its sides, what is known as a “piccolo”. The very high temperature (roughly 10,000° K) of the plasma influences the combustion of the propellant in several positive ways, which together result in a desired higher muzzle velocity of the projectile.
Rather briefly, it can be said that a typical modern ETC cannon consists of a cannon, the shell projectiles of which are essentially powder-gas-propelled, but where the shell is fired by means of electric ignition and its projectile is given an extra “push” via the plasma formation in connection with combustion of the propellent charge. However, there are also ETC cannons in which, after firing by means of a conventional fuse add “normal” combustion of the powder charge carried out subsequently, extra electrical energy is supplied to the projectile via the propellent gas further forward in the barrel by devices specially arranged there (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,844).
The technical problems which form the basis of the present invention are on the one hand the handling and storage problems which exist or can arise in the different weapon systems due to the weight, the moisture-sensitivity, the risk of electric short-circuiting etc. of the shell, and on the other hand the specific risk for ETC cannons that the cartridge case burns on in the barrel owing to electric short-circuiting between the cartridge case and the barrel. This is because the modern conventional cartridge case is manufactured from electrically conductive metal, usually brass. The burning-on is caused by the current and/or the voltage used during firing being intentionally or unintentionally conducted across to the cannon/artillery piece via the barrel. Moreover, the fact that the cannon/artillery piece becomes live constitutes an extra disadvantage for the gun crew.
It is therefore highly desirable to produce a new type of ammunition which is different from the abovementioned electrically conductive metal ammunition, has a considerably lower projectile weight than all comparable ammunition for conventional weapon systems and moreover is electrically insulated in order to prevent short-circuits and to minimize the risk of all or parts of the cartridge case burning on in the chamber or in the barrel.
Patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,040 describes a known plasma torch arrangement for electrothermal and electrothermochemical cannon systems where the necessary current and voltage are transferred to the plasma fuse via the rear part of the latter and then on to earth via the case jacket of the round and the barrel of the cannon system. A major problem in plasma cannons of this type is therefore that they use the cannon barrel as a counterelectrode, and so these constructions also apply current and voltage to the cannon barrel itself and thus other important parts of the weapon system concerned. Apart from the obvious disadvantages of this, such as the risk of personal injury as a result of electrical hazard and short-circuiting of the weapon system, it is clear that there is a considerable risk of the cartridge case burning on in the barrel when current and voltage are conducted across to the cannon.
An electrothermal firing arrangement with associated ammunition is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,879, where the arrangement comprises a barrel which comprises an inner “combustion chamber part”, in which the propellent charge burns, and an outer “projectile guide part” for accelerating the projectile. The ammunition comprises an only partly electrically insulated cartridge case, as the front part adjacent to the projectile consists of a front electrode which is electrically connected to the said projectile guide part of the barrel. The current transfer path for the arrangement via the ammunition therefore consists of an earthed metal breech block for current supply, a first and second electrode of the round between which a metal wire runs, and the barrel itself. It is easy to see that such a design of a cannon barrel constitutes neither a conventional construction nor a valid solution for conventional use in the field in a real weapon system, as opposed to here in a theoretical laboratory construction. For example, the ammunition round does not have a cartridge case proper, as the cartridge case and the firing device are the same component here. The projectile can therefore be considered to be mounted directly at the end of a fuse, as a result of which the round is always armed and cannot be disarmed without being destroyed at the same time.
It is true that the combustion chamber part and the projectile guide part have been insulated from one another via a high-voltage seal made of rubber or silicone rubber arranged between them, but the rubber will age very rapidly and be destroyed by use, after which the problems of short-circuiting etc. described above will occur. Moreover, it has been necessary to insulate, in addition to a small area intended for a cable terminal for the front electric connection, the entire front part of the barrel with a surface coating on its outside.
In addition to the constructions with metal barrels exemplified above, alternative barrels made in their entirety of non-conductive material have also been manufactured. An example of these is inter alia the grenade sleeve of the Carl-Gustaf anti-tank rifle, which is today manufactured from wound, glass-fibre-reinforced epoxy. In this case, however, the selection of material would be due to the resulting weight reduction.
One problem in the use of such non-metal barrels for conventional barrels as well is that the pressure from the combustion of the propellent charge will burst the barrel when the latter is closed at the rear end, which is of course the case in, for example, conventional artillery pieces, anti-tank weapons, cannons for tanks etc.
An important object of the present invention is therefore to produce a new type of insulated or insulating cartridge case and ammunition round primarily for electrothermochemical weapon systems, which cartridge case and which ammunition round are insulated in such a way that they considerably reduce or completely eliminate all the abovementioned problems and in particular the problems of the application of current and voltage to the barrel and other sensitive parts of the weapon system and also the risk of the cartridge case burning on in the said barrel and chamber.
Another object of the present invention is to produce cartridge cases and ammunition for use in weapon systems other than the said electrothermochemical weapon systems, which cartridge cases and which ammunition moreover have a considerably lower total weight compared with conventional ammunition.
It is also an object of the present invention to produce a new method for manufacturing cartridge cases and ammunition which are insulated in relation to their surrounding environment, that is to say which are not only electrically insulated but which can also be insulated with regard to water, moisture, temperature etc.
The said objects, and other aims not listed here, are achieved within the scope of what is stated in the present independent patent claims. Embodiments of the invention are indicated in the dependent patent claims.
The solution according to tie present invention is, in a way described in greater detail below, to replace the normally heavier, metal cartridge case with a lighter case which is electrically insulated or which is made of a material which does not conduct current, for example a plastic, ceramic or glass-fibre material etc. The result of the said insulation or replacement is that electric flashover, that is to say a short-circuit, normally cannot happen, and in most cases a considerable weight reduction as well and also thermal insulation etc. are obtained when a metal case is replaced with a non-metal case.
Examples of suitable replacement materials are polyethylene, glass-fibre-reinforced epoxy etc.
According to the present invention, an improved cartridge case and ammunition round comprising the said cartridge case have therefore been produced, which are characterized in that:
According to other aspects of the cartridge case and the ammunition round according to the invention:
According to the invention, furthermore, the method for manufacturing the said cartridge case and ammunition is characterized in that:
According to other aspects of the method for manufacturing the cartridge case and the ammunition round according to the invention:
The use of such cartridge cases and ammunition according to the invention is characterized in that the firing device of the ammunition round can consist of a fuse for use of the cartridge case and the ammunition round in other more conventional weapon systems than the said electrothermal and/or electrothermochemical weapon systems.
The advantages include the fact that, compared with the conventional metal cases, a considerable weight saving (roughly 70%) is obtained while the ammunition quantity remains the same. Alternatively, if the storage space allows, a greater quantity of ammunition can be carried in spite of an unchanged total weight.
From a technical point of view, manufacturing is simple, as a result of which the cases can be manufactured with uniform and high quality for a low manufacturing cost. The form and execution selected for the winding plies result in tight laminate shells, which prevent overpressure being built into the casing of the case, a high expansion capacity without the case cracking, and also the laminate sealing itself the more the overpressure in the round increases. Moreover, the cases have great impact-resistance at the same time as they tolerate a certain delamination in the event of careless handling.
By using a cartridge case made of electrically insulating material, that is to say non-conductive plastic, glass fibre, ceramic etc., or by using a metal case which has been provided with a coating, surface or layer which insulates the case electrically, for example by vaporization of a plastic to form an insulating plastic film of suitable thickness, the risk of flashover, that is to say electric short-circuiting, has on the whole been eliminated.
Even if the current should happen to be conducted across to the cannon/artillery piece when firing of a round takes place, the cartridge case will not burn on in the barrel, which is often the result when the cartridge case is made of metal.
The invention will be described in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying figures, in which
With reference to
It will be understood, however, that the round 1 shown is not only intended for such ETC ammunition and that it can also include several different sizes and projectile types depending on the area of use and calibre. Here, however, it is at least the commonest ammunition types today, between roughly 25 mm and 160 mm, which are concerned.
The expressions “at least electrically insulating” or “at least electrically insulated” mean that the material, the case etc. so designated can also function as insulating or be insulated in relation to the surrounding environment with regard to water, moisture, temperature etc.
It applies generally that the cartridge case 2 comprises an, at least electrically, insulating and/or electrically insulated casing 10. This casing 10 can then consist of only one or the same essentially homogeneous material layer, shell or laminate 11 which is then dielectric (that is to say non-conductive), for example a fibre composite, or of a combination of several different shells, layers or surfaces 11, 12, 13, where at least one of these acts in an electrically insulating manner for the others and for the cartridge case 2 as a whole.
A combined casing 10 (compare
Preferably, the casing 10 (see
In an example of the said embodiment of a cartridge case 2 with a conductive shell 11, the case comprises a load-bearing, metal shell 11, on which a plastic film coating 12, 13 (see below) has been applied. See in particular
In this connection, the supporting shell is arranged so that it extends between the projectile and the bottom piece with a rigidity as is required for the function. In this embodiment, after firing the finished round, only the metal bottom of the cartridge case remains, and the rest is combusted in the barrel.
In the embodiments of the cartridge case 2 according to the invention shown in particular in
In the other embodiment of the cartridge case 2 according to the invention shown in
In the embodiment according to
However, when the round 1 according to the embodiment with the separate bottom piece 16 is fired, there is an obvious risk that undesirable pressure forces can penetrate between the cartridge case jacket 15 and the bottom piece 16. These pressure forces can then split apart the laminate in the case jacket 15 and in the bottom piece 16. In order to minimize the risk of this happening, the separate bottom 16 is manufactured with an interference fit to the cartridge case jacket 15 which is greater than the expansion possibility of the round 1 in the cartridge chamber plus the maximum compression which can be brought about by the inner overpressure when firing takes place. Moreover, a rubber ring seal (not shown) can be mounted between the cartridge case jacket 15 and the bottom piece 16 to bring about extra sealing.
The abovementioned metal bottom 16 and/or the rear end 30 of the plasma torch 5 (see below) lie(s) against the chamber 17 of the weapon concerned (see
In the embodiments of the round 1 shown in the figures (see in particular
The plasma torch 5 (see
The plasma torch 5 also comprises a front opening 28. The central electrode 26 comprises a metal, cylindrical contact device 29 for bringing about a first “input” electric connection 19a. The rear end 30 of the combustion chamber 25 has a metal flange 31 as the “output” electric connection 19b. An electrically insulating tube 32 (see
The method for manufacturing the cartridge case 2 and the ammunition 1 according to the embodiment comprising a casing 10 and a separate bottom piece 16 made of glass-fibre epoxy is as follows.
A first design philosophy was based on manufacturing a cartridge case 2 which was as strong as possible, that is to say that the shell 11 of the case jacket 15 would be rigid. For each winding ply/laminate layer 11, 12, 13, a fibre winding with fibre angles of essentially roughly 90° to the longitudinal axis of the tube on the inside (like on a conventional spool) and +/− roughly 20° on the outside was selected. In order to obtain an extra strong case jacket 15, many such winding plies 11, 12, 13 were laid one on top of another. It was found that such casings 10 burst during test firing due to the great risk of crack formation and the build-up of overpressure in the glass-fibre laminate. As mentioned above, it is an absolute requirement that the cartridge case 2 can be removed from the cartridge chamber after the shell has been fired. This requirement is complicated or rendered impossible if the casing 10 is not in one piece.
The current design philosophy, which forms the basis for the case 2 and the ammunition 1 according to the present embodiment of the invention, is that the casing 10 is instead essentially flexible, that is to say that the casing 10 of a round 1 introduced into the cartridge chamber tolerates being expanded towards the walls of the cartridge chamber by the inner overpressure inside the cartridge case 2 brought about when firing takes place without for that reason cracking, delaminating or disintegrating. This is achieved by sandwiching woven glass-fibre fabric between several of the thread-winding plies. In this connection, the said inner overpressure which is handled can be assumed to vary from roughly 450 MPa to at least 750 MPa depending on the calibre, type etc. of the round.
Manufacture is started by an innermost, tightly woven glass-fibre fabric first being applied to the winding and shaping tool, while it is ensured that any air bubbles are carefully pressed out of the laminate so that there is no risk of air pockets being built into the laminate. The simplest way of doing this is to rotate the tool while the fabric is draped over it. The last piece of the glass-fibre fabric is laid so that a small overlap is formed. Then, a first winding ply of glass-fibre thread in resin is laid with a fibre angle to the longitudinal axis of the tube of essentially 90°, followed by two winding plies of thread with a fibre angle of on the one hand roughly +20° and on the other hand −20°. The subsequent, thin winding plies/laminate layers 11, 12, 13 are then given a fibre winding with a fibre angle to the longitudinal axis of the tube which varies between essentially roughly 90° and +/− roughly 20° as the thickness of the casing 10 is built up to roughly half-thickness. After that, woven glass-fibre fabric and fibre windings with a fibre angle of essentially 90° are sandwiched until full case thickness has been achieved. Suitably, two cartridge cases 2 are wound simultaneously by virtue of the blank of the case 2 being manufactured in such a way that, after winding has been completed, the blank can be divided into two equal parts, the cut taking place between the rear and therefore rougher ends 6 of the two cases.
The winding speed, thread tension and hardening cycle are selected carefully so as to obtain optimum and economical manufacture. The winding speed should be relatively low, 4-6 m/min and preferably roughly 5 m/min, while the thread tension should be quite high, roughly 21-23 N/roving and preferably 22 N/roving, in order to avoid any risk of delamination. In order further to minimize the risk of delamination, use is suitably made of a hardening cycle comprising a plurality of hardenings at increasing temperatures, for example a hardening cycle of roughly 5 hours at roughly 80°, followed by roughly 5 hours at roughly 120°, after which after-hardening takes place for roughly 4 hours at roughly 140°.
After shaping of the blank for the case jacket 15, this is cut and turned/ground to the desired length, thickness and predetermined shape, for example comprising the flange 6, after which a bottom piece 16 is mounted on the rear end 6 of the case jacket 15 in a tight-fitting manner, preferably by adhesive bonding by means of epoxy adhesive, but use can also be made of screw-thread cutting or another connection (not shown) suitable for the function. Any steel components, such as the plasma torch 5 and the steel bottom 16 if one is used, are surface-treated before adhesive bonding.
When a bottom 16 made of glass-fibre epoxy is used, this can be manufactured according to two methods, either via a hammock method where only tensile loads in the fibres can occur or via a plane bottom method so that pressure loads can also occur. After shaping and hardening have been completed, the bottom piece is then turned out, attention being paid to obtaining the correct interference fit as above.
Mounting of the fuse or alternatively the plasma torch is effected via screw-thread cutting so that they can be interchanged. Mounting of the projectile, propellent charge and other components included in the finished round is carried out in a conventional way.
The method for manufacturing the cartridge case 2 and the ammunition 1 according to the embodiment comprising a metal casing 10 with electric insulation coating 12, 13 is as follows. An example of such a coating 12, 13 is what is referred to as polymer vaporization.
This coating 12, 13 is applied over a conventional cartridge case 2 via three phases comprising vaporization of a dimeric or polymeric raw material comprising hydrocarbons (plastic), such as poly-para-xylylene, the polymer or the dimer first, at roughly 150° C., being transformed from solid phase to gas phase and then, at a further increased temperature of roughly 650° C., being transformed to a reactive monomer gas which is finally made to condense (that is to say polymerize) on the cartridge case 2 which is at room temperature and under vacuum, a thin inner and outer insulating plastic film layer 12, 13 being deposited on all the free surfaces of the case 2 with a thickness of roughly 20-70μ.
The resulting highly pure, hole-free, tough and elastic polymer film 12, 13 is completely smooth and has a low friction coefficient (as a result of which the cartridge case is provided with spontaneous lubrication), high abrasion-resistance, low water absorption, and also a high dielectric constant of roughly 200 V/μm. Moreover, the polymer film is non-sensitive to gases, solvents, chemicals, water and moisture.
The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown but can be varied in different ways within the scope of the patent claims. It is clear, for example, that an insulating coating and protective layer can also be obtained by means of conventional varnishing of the round and the case. Compared with the polymer vaporization described above, however, varnishing has the disadvantages of higher permeability and worse adhesion, and the varnish can also crack.
Materials other than polyethylene, glass-fibre-reinforced epoxy etc. and different thread tension, fibre angles, hardening cycles etc. and winding plies may be possible in future. It is clear that the number, size, material and shape of the elements and components included in the round 1 and the cartridge case 2, for example the bottom piece 16, the fabric, resin and thread type etc., are adapted according to the weapon system(s), calibres, active part etc. and also the surrounding environment concerned. It is therefore clear that the invention is in no way limited to the embodiments shown in particular, but that every other configuration according to the above falls within the inventive idea.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0202387 | Aug 2002 | SE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/SE03/01253 | 8/7/2003 | WO | 00 | 10/5/2005 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2004/015359 | 2/19/2004 | WO | A |
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