Ammunition Casing Strength Reduction Pattern for Rupture Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing munitions designs are unsatisfactory in reducing sensitivity to unwanted external stimuli like fire, slow heating, and impact, often resulting in significant collateral damage due to complex and costly mechanisms or the use of non-LOVA energetic materials.
Innovation Solution
A container design with a body structure featuring a central region of reduced wall thickness and a strength reduction pattern that diverges from the longitudinal axis, providing a preferred rupture path when subjected to external stimuli, thereby minimizing shrapnel fragments and collateral damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If complex rupture mechanisms or fusible materials are incorporated to release excessive pressure, then the munition sensitivity to external stimuli is reduced, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes complex rupture mechanisms and fusible materials from the munition design. Instead, it uses a simple longitudinal score line created by a grooving tool that allows the container to split cleanly into two halves when subjected to excessive pressure from external stimuli, eliminating the need for complicated pressure-release mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than adding complex mechanisms to prevent rupture, the patent inverts the approach by deliberately creating a controlled weakness (the score line) that guides the rupture in a predictable manner. This transforms the rupture from a harmful uncontrolled event into a controlled safety feature that minimizes shrapnel generation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If LOVA energetic materials are used to reduce vulnerability reactions, then the collateral damage from inadvertent activation is minimized, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the requirement for expensive LOVA energetic materials from the solution. Instead of relying on special energetic materials, it achieves low vulnerability reactions through the mechanical design of the container itself—the longitudinal score line ensures that any rupture will split the container cleanly into two halves, minimizing shrapnel generation regardless of the energetic material used.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a simple, inexpensive container design with a scored longitudinal line that can be mass-produced using conventional tools. This disposable-like approach to the container structure (where the container is designed to split rather than protect) eliminates the need for costly specialized materials while achieving the same safety objectives.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the wall thickness is reduced in the central region to create a preferred rupture path, then the shrapnel fragments and collateral damage are minimized, but the structural integrity under loading and firing stresses may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a localized feature (the longitudinal score line or groove) in a specific region of the container wall without uniformly reducing wall thickness. This localized modification creates a preferred rupture path while maintaining the overall structural integrity of the container under normal loading and firing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-creating the score line or groove during manufacturing, which establishes the preferred rupture path before any external stimulus occurs. This preliminary structural modification ensures that when pressure builds up, the rupture will follow the predetermined path, splitting the container cleanly into two halves rather than creating random shrapnel.
Data Source
AI summary
A container (e.g., an ammunition casing, a rocket housing, or the like) includes a body structure having a wall defining a cavity configured to accept an energetic material, the body structure having a central region situated longitudinally between a first side region and a second side region, wherein the wall within the central region has a thickness that is less than the thickness of the wall within first region and either less than or equal to the thickness within the second side region. A strength reduction pattern is formed at least partially within the central region of the wall such that the strength reduction pattern provides a preferred rupture path when the energetic material is subjected to a predetermined external stimulus.