The Effects of Propellant Grain Fracture on the Interior Ballistics of Guns

Abstract

The two-phase flow interior ballistic code XNOVAKTC (XKTC) has been modified to include the effects of propellant grain fracture. An increase in propellant surface is related to the level of intergranular stress in the propellant bed, caused either by local bed compaction associated with the ignition wave or by grain impact against, most likely, the projectile base. The user specifies the increase in propellant surface to be associated with the level of intergranular stress. An increase in local gas production follows directly from the increase in burning surface; interphase heat transfer and drag may similarly be linked to intergranular stress. This improved XKTC is used to illustrate the interior ballistic effects of grain fracture for two charges at two temperatures. Pressure waves in guns have long been linked to localized ignition and the distribution of ullage in the chamber; propellant fracture resulting from associated increases in intergranular stress are shown in this study to provide a link to higher breech pressures as well.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1989
Accession Number
ADA209007

Entities

People

  • A. W. Horst
  • G. E. Keller

Organizations

  • Ballistic Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ammunition
  • Artillery
  • Burning Rate
  • Chambers
  • Engineering
  • Geometry
  • Heat Transfer
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Materials Science
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Military Research
  • Munitions
  • Physics Laboratories
  • Projectiles
  • Propellants
  • Propelling Charges
  • Two Phase Flow

Readers

  • Powder metallurgy of Titanium alloys.
  • Rocket Propulsion.
  • ballistics.