Method and apparatus for penetrating hard materials

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6405628
  • Patent Number
    6,405,628
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, August 17, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, June 18, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A method and apparatus for drilling and penetrating hard materials utilizes a high velocity gun system that fires multiple shots of a projectile and an energetic slurry at the surface of the material to be penetrated. The penetrating device includes one or more firing barrels that are loaded with a propellant, a projectile and an energetic (explosive) slurry, and are controlled to fire in a preselected firing sequence. The projectile enters the material to be penetrated generating a hole into which the energetic slurry is also fired. The energetic slurry detonates upon contact with the material causing an explosion that further fractures the material and which blows the material out of the hole. The process is repeated until a desired penetration depth is obtained.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention is directed in general to a method and apparatus for drilling or penetrating hard surfaces and materials such as rock, concrete and steel. In particular, the present invention is directed to penetrating hard surfaces and materials utilizing a high velocity gun system that fires multiple shots of a projectile and an energetic slurry at the surface of the material to be penetrated.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Conventional excavation techniques employ the use of drills to drill holes in a layer of a material to be penetrated. Explosives are placed in the holes and detonated to cause a layer of the material to fracture and break apart. The resulting rubble is cleared from the excavation site and the process is repeated for a subsequent layer of material to be penetrated. Such conventional excavation techniques result in a slow and tedious process in which several distinct and separate steps must be performed in sequence to excavate each layer of material to be removed.




Convention drilling or boring techniques employ the use of complicated mechanical drilling apparatus. The drilling apparatus incorporates the use of a drill bit to cut through the material being bored. Mechanical drill bits are subject to wear and breakage, however, and therefore must be periodically maintained or replaced. The required maintenance of mechanical drilling apparatus generally increases in proportion to the hardness of the material to be drilled, causing delays and interruptions in the drilling process in order to service the drilling equipment.




In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus for boring through and excavating hard materials such as rock, concrete and steel that would allow for the rapid removal of material without requiring the separate steps of drilling, placement of explosives, detonation of explosives and debris removal associated with conventional excavation techniques or the use of maintenance prone and mechanically complicated drilling systems associated with conventional drilling or boring techniques.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The invention provides a method and apparatus for drilling and penetrating hard materials utilizing a high velocity gun system that fires multiple shots of a projectile and an energetic slurry at the surface of the material to be penetrated. More specifically a penetrating device is provided that includes one or more firing barrels. The firing barrels are loaded with a propellant, a projectile and an energetic (explosive) slurry, and are controlled to fire in a preselected firing sequence. The projectile enters the material to be penetrated generating a hole into which the energetic slurry is also fired. The energetic slurry detonates upon contact with the material causing an explosion that further fractures the material and which blows the material out of the hole. The process is repeated until a desired penetration is obtained.




In preferred embodiments, the projectile includes aluminum which reacts with the slurry to further enhance the explosive force, the slurry preferably includes at least one of HMX, RDX and TNT, and the propellant is a preferably a liquid propellent of a type used in conventional liquid propellant guns although conventional solid propellents may be employed. Still further, the device is preferably provided with an explosive payload that is detonated when the desired penetration depth is reached. In a still further embodiment, the device is fitted with control fins and a guidance system for use as an air launched munitions.




Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The invention will be described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:





FIG. 1

illustrates a basic penetrating device in accordance with the invention that utilizes a single firing barrel;





FIG. 2

illustrates the penetration of a material by a projectile fired by the penetrating device illustrated in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

illustrates the detonation of an energetic slurry fired into a material by the penetrating device illustrated in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

illustrates the dislodgement of material caused by the detonation of the energetic slurry as illustrated in

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 5

illustrates a man portable penetrating device in accordance with the present invention that includes three firing barrels;





FIG. 6

illustrates a drilling or boring penetrating device in accordance with the present invention that includes multiple firing barrels;





FIG. 7

illustrates a stand for holding the drilling device illustrated in

FIG. 6

in a substantially perpendicular position on a material to be bored;





FIG. 8

illustrates the generation of a bore hole by the firing of multiple projectiles by the device illustrated in

FIG. 6

;





FIG. 9

illustrates the detonation of energetic slurry fired into a bore hole by the device illustrated in

FIG. 6

;





FIG. 10

is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a projectile to be used in the device illustrated in

FIG. 6

;





FIG. 11

is a cross-sectional view of the projectile illustrated in

FIG. 10

taken along indicated line a—a;





FIG. 12

illustrates the creation of substantially stress fractures by the projectile illustrated in

FIG. 11

;





FIG. 13

illustrates a penetrating device of the type illustrated in

FIG. 6

further including an explosive payload;





FIG. 14

illustrates a penetrating device of the type illustrated in

FIG. 13

configured as an air launched munition; and





FIG. 15

illustrates a preferred number and pattern of firing barrels for a penetrating devices of the type illustrated in

FIGS. 6

,


13


and


14


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION





FIG. 1

illustrates a basic penetrating device in accordance with the present invention that includes a firing barrel


10


through which a high velocity jet including a projectile


12


and a fixed volume of energetic slurry


14


is fired by combusting a propellant


16


. As shown in

FIG. 2

, the projectile


12


penetrates the surface of a material


18


to be excavated, thereby causing fractures


20


in the material that expand outward from a penetration hole


22


. The energetic slurry


14


follows the projectile


12


into the penetration hole


22


and achieves a fully coupled explosion within the penetration hole


22


(illustrated in FIG.


3


), which generates high pressure shock waves and hot gases that cause the fractured material (illustrated by the dashed line) to be blasted outward past the firing barrel


10


of the penetrating device. The penetration hole


22


is thereby cleared of debris during the penetration process as illustrated in FIG.


4


. Accordingly, the penetration process is made essentially continuous by firing the penetration device multiple times in rapid succession, with penetration and removal of material taking place without interruption, as successive shot causes the penetration hole


22


to be expanded.




The expendables utilized in the penetrating device include the energetic slurry


14


, the projectiles


12


, the propellant


16


and an obturator


15


located between the energetic slurry


14


and the propellant


16


. The energetic slurry


14


preferably includes an explosive material such as HMX, RDX or TNT, that is separated from the propellant


16


by the obturator


15


, which may be made of a plastic or any other suitable material. The projectiles


12


can be made of any desired material including metal or ceramics, depending upon the application and type of material to be penetrated. In a preferred embodiment, the projectiles


12


include at least some portion of aluminum which reacts with energetic slurry


14


to create a more powerful explosion. The projectile


12


can either be a single solid projectile, a projectile that splits into multiple pieces upon firing or multiple projectile elements such as steel shot. The propellant


16


is preferably a conventional liquid propellant utilized in conventional liquid propellant guns, thereby allowing the penetrating device to be easily recharged by pumping the projectiles


12


, the slurry


14


and the propellant


16


from pressurized tanks into the firing barrel


10


. The propellant


16


is ignited by conventional firing techniques utilized in various types of guns including electric ignition. Alternatively, solid propellant, for example conventional gun powder, can be utilized and the slurry


14


and projectiles


12


can be incorporated within a cartridge type device that essentially disintegrates upon ignition, in which case conventional mechanical type ammunition feeding systems can be utilized.




The penetration device can be easily made portable for use in demolition of walls or similar small structures. Referring to

FIG. 5

, a penetration device


26


in accordance with the invention is shown including a main body


28


mounted on a collapsible bipod


30


. The main body


28


incorporates three gun barrels


32


that fire a combination of energetic slurry and projectiles as described above in rapid succession. Alternatively, the penetration device can be mounted on a vehicle for further ease of mobility.




In a further embodiment illustrated in

FIG. 6

, the invention provides a penetration device


33


for boring deep into a material through the application of successive firings. The deep penetration device includes a fire control unit


34


, flexible containers


36


for storage of expendables including propellant, explosive slurry and projectiles, and a check valve system


38


for loading the expendables from the flexible containers into multiple firing barrels


40


. The fire control unit


34


controls the operation of the check valve system


38


to load and fire the multiple firing barrels


40


in a prescribed firing pattern, and may be implemented utilizing special purpose control processors, general purpose processors specifically programmed for the application, discrete circuit components or combinations thereof




As is illustrated in

FIG. 7

, the penetration device


33


is loaded into a firing stand


42


such that the penetration device


33


is substantially perpendicular to a surface of the material to be bored. The firing stand includes a holding tube


43


, in which the penetration device


33


is placed, and a number of support legs


45


. Upon activation, the fire control unit


34


controls the firing barrels


40


to fire projectiles and energetic slurry into the surface of the material. As illustrated in

FIG. 8

, the projectiles


12


fired from the gun barrels


40


penetrate the material drilling holes approximately three times their diameter and causing stress fractures


44


in the material. The energetic slurry


14


ignites upon hitting the bottom of the hole being bored, thereby generating high pressure gases that penetrate the stress fractures


44


(as shown in

FIG. 9

) and causing the fractured material to be blown past the firing barrels


40


. The weight of the penetrating device causes it to slide through the holding tube


43


and into the penetration hole formed by the excavation. The process is repeated causing the penetrating device


33


to progressively move deeper into the material to be bored, until a desired penetration depth is reached.




In order to maximize the efficiency of the penetrating device, it is desirable to utilize a projectile


12


that will both penetrate perpendicularly to a surface of the material to be penetrated, and will also cause stress fractures that run substantially parallel to surface of the material, so that the material can be easily blasted from the penetration hole by the gases and shock waves generated by the detonation of the energetic slurry


14


.

FIGS. 10 and 11

illustrate a preferred projectile that includes a Lexan™ sabot


46


, an aluminum pusher


48


, a steel ram


50


, four steel supplemental projectile elements


52


, a polyethylene buffer


54


and a steel nose primary projectile element


56


. Upon firing, the steel nose primary projectile element


56


penetrates substantially perpendicular to the surface of the material to be bored and generates radiating type stress fractures


58


. The supplemental projectile elements


52


separate and open like flower pedals to penetrate the material at oblique angles as illustrated in

FIG. 12

, causing their own stress fractures


60


that overlap the stress fractures


58


generated by the primary projectile element


56


. The cross-fracturing substantially weakens the material over single dimensional fractioning that would occur if all projectiles penetrated perpendicular to the surface. Accordingly, the detonation of the energetic slurry


14


causes a larger volume of the material to be removed (indicated by dashed line) as opposed to the results obtained from a single perpendicularly entering projectile.




The invention can be utilized for any number of applications. In one preferred embodiment, the penetrating device is further fitted with an explosive payload


62


, as shown in

FIG. 13

, that is detonated once the penetrating device has reached a specified depth. Still further, the penetrating device illustrated in

FIG. 13

can be further modified by the addition of control canards


64


, control fins


66


and a guidance system


68


into an air launched penetrating munitions, as illustrated in FIG.


14


. In this embodiment, the penetrating device is also provided with a stabilizing drag chute (not shown) to stabilize the device so that it hits the ground in a substantially vertical orientation. Prior to impact, a ground proximity sensor


70


is utilized to signal the control unit


34


to begin firing the firing barrels


40


just prior to impact, thereby creating a crater into which the device can penetrate.




The invention provides a number of advantages over conventional excavation and drilling techniques. For example, large amounts of material can be rapidly removed at relatively low cost. The device does not require complex mechanical support systems that are subject to failure or extensive maintenance. Further, the device can be remotely operated or preprogrammed for remote operation thereby avoiding potential injuries.




The invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof. It will be understood, however, that modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the type of propellent, energetic slurry and projectile to be used will necessary be dependent on the application and material to be penetrated. The number and configuration of the firing barrels may also be varied. In general, the number and horizontal separation of the firing barrels determine the horizontal separation in the fractures formed in them material to be penetrated, while the projectile structure determines the depth.

FIG. 15

, for example, illustrates one preferred distribution of firing barrels, wherein six firing barrels are disposed at substantially equal intervals in a circle and a seventh barrel is provided at the center of the circle.



Claims
  • 1. An apparatus comprising:a projectile and an energetic slurry at least one firing barrel; and firing means for firing the projectile and energetic slurry from the firing barrel; wherein said projectile includes a sabot, a pusher, a ram located adjacent the pusher, a plurality of supplemental projectile elements located adjacent to the ram, a buffer material located next to the supplemental projectile elements and a primary projectile element.
  • 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the firing means includes a liquid propellant.
  • 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energetic slurry includes at least one of HMX, RDX and TNT.
  • 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the projectile includes aluminum.
  • 5. An apparatus comprising:a plurality of firing barrels; supply means for supplying projectiles, an energetic slurry and a propellant into said firing barrels; and control means for controlling the firing of said plurality of firing barrels in accordance with a preselected firing sequence; wherein said projectile includes a sabot, a pusher, a ram located adjacent the pusher, a plurality of supplemental projectile elements located adjacent to the ram, a buffer material located next to the supplemental projectile elements and a primary projectile element.
  • 6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising an explosive payload.
  • 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, further comprising control fins and a guidance system.
  • 8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said projectile includes a primary projectile element and a plurality of secondary projectile elements.
  • 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said propellant comprises a liquid propellant.
  • 10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the energetic slurry includes at least one of HMX, RDX and TNT.
  • 11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the projectile includes aluminum.
  • 12. A method of penetrating a material comprising the steps of:a. loading a firing barrel with a propellant, a projectile and an energetic slurry, wherein said projectile includes a sabot, a pusher, a ram located adjacent the pusher, a plurality of supplemental projectile elements located adjacent to the ram, a buffer material located next to the supplemental projectile elements and a primary projectile element; b. firing the loaded firing barrel at the material to be penetrated; and c. repeating steps a and b until a desired penetration is obtained.
  • 13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein said propellant comprises a liquid propellant.
  • 14. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the energetic slurry includes at least one of HMX, RDX and TNT.
  • 15. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the projectile includes aluminum.
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Number Name Date Kind
3188955 Brown Jun 1965 A
3437039 Hawthorne Apr 1969 A
3502161 Coman Mar 1970 A
3511538 Guenter May 1970 A
3762326 Edgell et al. Oct 1973 A
3855931 Dardick Dec 1974 A
4294171 Ducharme Oct 1981 A
4318343 King Mar 1982 A
4419936 Coates et al. Dec 1983 A
4909152 Reuter Mar 1990 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
2622156 Nov 1977 DE
488236 Sep 1918 FR