Ammunition and explosives – Cartridges – Combustilbe – destructible – or caseless
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-20
2003-02-25
Tudor, Harold J. (Department: 3641)
Ammunition and explosives
Cartridges
Combustilbe, destructible, or caseless
C102S467000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06523476
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to ammunition having a case, the wall of which consists of a combustible or consumable wound package with at least one double layer of intersecting filaments, with said filaments being impregnated or coated with a binding agent and with a end socket containing the detonating charge being connected to the wound package.
Ammunition with a case, the wall,of which consists of a combustible or consumable wound package with at least one double layer of intersecting filaments which are impregnated or coated with a binding agent, is known from DE-OS 2 424 900. According to this publication the individual filament layers exhibit a homogeneous structure with respect to the deposition of the filaments. There is no description of the adaptation of the projectile and of the end socket to the wound package of the case.
From U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,445 it is known to develop the propellent charge out of filaments that have previously been produced from a powder mixture, the explosive substance. The powder mixtures are, for example, dissolved in acetone and shaped by spinnerets into filaments, dried and subsequently wound up. In this process the winding is not restricted to just a few layers, but instead complete coils are wound. The latter may not only be inserted into traditional cases as propellent charge, they may even form the body of the ammunition. How the projectile is inserted into these wound bodies is neither represented nor described.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to present ammunition having a combustible or consumable wound body, the filaments in the windings being deposited optimally over the length of the wound body in a manner that is matched to the variable possible loadings and to the desired burn-up behaviour.
This object is achieved by making the wound package in one piece and by virtue of a changing deposition of filaments over the length of the wound package, the density of winding of the wound package is being variable, matching the loading of the case.
The wound body according to the invention is in one piece. The projectile is inserted at the case mouth of said wound body, the adaptation region for the projectile, and at its other end said wound package bears a end socket with the detonating charge. By reason of the one-piece design, the separate production of the case halves and a process step for the assembly of the case halves are advantageously dispensed with.
In accordance with the invention the filaments are deposited unevenly over the length of the wound package. The density of winding, that is to say the number of times the filament or filaments is/are deposited over the length of the wound body, is matched to the actual and possible loadings and also to the desired burn-up behaviour. The greater, for example, the pressure loading on a case in one region, the greater the number of deposited filaments is chosen to be in this region
The density of winding is influenced substantially by the angle of intersection. With an intersecting deposition of the filaments on the periphery of the wound body the angle of intersection is the angle between two filaments running towards one another in the direction of deposition in a so-called double layer. A double layer consists of a layer of filaments which have been deposited in the direction towards one end of the wound package and of the overlying layer of filaments which have been deposited in the opposite direction, in the direction towards the other end of the wound body. Since the filaments oil the periphery of the wound bodies are deposited in helical manner in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the ammunition, the pitch of the deposition determines the angle of intersection. with a small pitch, the angle of intersection is likewise small; with a large pitch it is likewise large. The strength and load-carrying capacity of a wound package, as well as its burn-up behaviour, are additionally influenced by the method of winding. for instance, one filament can be wound alone, or several filaments running in parallel with a slight spacing from one another can be wound to form a wound package.
In an advantageous further development of the invention the angle of intersection of the filaments of the wound body in the adaptation region for the projectile and in is the adaptation region for the end socket is smaller than in the intermediate region of the wound body. The variable loadings within the wall of the case are taken into consideration by this change in the angles of intersection. Increased tensile and pressure loadings arise, in particular, in the adaptation regions for projectile and end socket. The wound body becomes more stable within the range of small angles of intersection, particularly in relation to pressure loadings in the radial direction. In the central region of the case, tensile loading predominates. This is taken into account there by virtue of a larger angle of intersection of the filaments.
In a further refinement of the invention, the angles of intersection in the adaptation region of the projectile can be smaller than in the adaptation region of the end socket. For example, the tank ammunition projectile has a mass of several kilograms. In order that the projectile is held securely in the case, the wall of the case has to have an appropriate load-carrying capacity. This is obtained by virtue of a denser deposition of filaments than in the remaining part of the wound body, that is, by a smaller spacing of the filaments which are deposited alongside one another, with a smaller angle of intersection. The end socket loads the wound body less than the projectile does. By reason of the flow conditions in the combustible gases, the burn-up behaviour of the wound body is slower in the adaptation region of the end socket than in the remaining region of the case. The burn-up behaviour can be improved by virtue of so-called pores, the unfilled interstices between the filaments. Pores arise if the winding of the filaments is less dense, that is to say with larger angles of intersection and with larger spacings of the filaments which are deposited alongside one another. The angles of intersection may, for ammunition of calibre 120 mm for example, be distributed over the wound body as follows: in the adaptation region of the projectile approximately between 15° and 30°, in the adaptation region of the end socket approximately between 30° and 50°, and in the central region of the wound body up to 90°. However, the invention is not intended to be restricted to these gradations or to the stated limiting values. The angles of intersection are to be matched to the calibre and to the intended use of the ammunition and hence substantially to the diameter and the length of the case.
Compression of the wound body at its respective ends, the adaptation regions, can be effected by lowering the angle of intersection in single-stage or multi-stage steps. However, a continuous decrease in the angle of intersection in the direction towards the respective adaptation regions can also be obtained by controlling the deposition of the filaments. The tensile and pressure loadings of the case are made uniform with a wound body that has been built up in this way.
Influence can be exerted not only on the load-carrying capacity of the case but also on its burn-up or consumption behaviour through the choice of the angles of intersection. Thus in a wound package that consists of several double layers the angles of intersection in the respective double layers may differ from one another. In order to assist, in particular, the effect of the propellant charge in the course of burn-up, it can be advantageous if the wall is structured in the radial direction in such a way that by virtue of the presetting of small angles of intersection, the outermost layers are able to withstand a higher pressure loading than the inner layers. By this means, a higher resistance is set against the radial deformation of the case in the course of burn-up of the propellant charge,
Muskat Erich
Riess Heinz
Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus LLP
Dynamit Nobel GmbH Explosivstoff - und Systemtechnik
Tudor Harold J.
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