Projectile acceleration in a single-stage gun at breech pressures below 50 MPa

Abstract.

Experimental studies were carried out to investigate projectile acceleration in a single-stage gun at breech pressures below 50 MPa. The gun was driven by firing either liquid or solid propellant. In-bore projectile velocity was continuously recorded using the well-known, precise VISAR interferometer technique so that accurate projectile acceleration data could be deduced. Both the attained projectile acceleration and muzzle exit velocity depend upon the charge-to-mass ratio and the pressure at which the blow-out disk ruptures. The results obtained from these experiments render information on the interplay between propellant combustion and projectile acceleration for low in-bore pressure regimes, and they provide the input data required for adequate numerical simulation.