Aerodynamic and Flight Dynamic Characteristics of 5.56-mm Ammunition: M855

Abstract

An experimental program for the aerodynamic and flight dynamic characterization of current 5.56-mm small-caliber ammunition has been developed and executed to further enable the U.S. Army's understanding of the ammunition. This report is focused on the M855 round, one of the most commonly used ammunitions for the M4 and M16A2 weapons. The aerodynamic characterization of the M855 round was accomplished at muzzle velocity as well as simulated downrange velocities out to 600 m. The resulting aerodynamic data will be used to update the U.S. Army's aerodynamic model of M855 ammunition to create improved modeling ability. A flight dynamic characterization, to include yaw limit cycle and Magnus moment instabilities, was accomplished at the same velocities. The predicted downrange yaw limit cycles were compared with previously obtained at-range yaw limit cycles with some success.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA530895

Entities

People

  • Bradley E. Howell
  • Sidra I. Silton

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Aerodynamic Forces
  • Ammunition
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Sets
  • Equations
  • Instability
  • Mach Number
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Muzzle Velocity
  • Physical Properties
  • Research Facilities
  • Simulations
  • Three Dimensional
  • Trajectories
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • ballistics.