The Initial Velocities of Fragments from Bombs, Shell, Grenades.

Abstract

To assess the efficiency of a projectile, it is often required to predict the initial velocities of the fragments from a knowledge of the dimensions of the metal casing and the character and quantity of explosive. Between a grenade containing 1 1/2 ounces of H.E. and a bomb containing 3000 pounds of H.E. the difference in scale is so great, that it is a question whether any simple scheme will apply over the whole range. A theory is put forward, making the following assumption, that the contribution to the total kinetic energy made by the detonation of unit mass of explosive is independent of the size of the projectile. In a large bomb the explosion gases have actually more kinetic energy than the fragments. A simple expression is found for the average initial velocity in terms of the charge-weight ratio; C/M = 0.06 to C/M = 5.6.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1943
Accession Number
ADA289704

Entities

People

  • R. W. Gurney

Organizations

  • Ballistic Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Detonations
  • Efficiency
  • Energy
  • Explosion Gases
  • Explosions
  • Explosives
  • Gases
  • Kinetic Energy
  • Maryland
  • Projectiles
  • Technical Information Centers

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Seismology
  • ballistics.