Multifunctional Composite Projectiles for Controlled Impact Disintegration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing projectile technologies are limited in their ability to produce multi-functional, cost-effective, and reproducible projectiles with tailored performance characteristics, particularly in terms of minimizing collateral damage and ensuring safe operation, while also meeting specific ballistic and armor-piercing requirements.
Innovation Solution
The development of composite projectiles using advanced materials and manufacturing techniques, such as melt-flow processing, polyamide polymers, and energetic particles, allows for customizable performance characteristics and efficient production, including polymeric jackets for reduced friction and frangible designs to minimize collateral damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional metal jacketing is used, then firearm feeding and lubricity are improved, but barrel wear and metal deposits increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite jacketing material consisting of a polymer matrix (polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyamide) reinforced with metal particles (steel, tungsten, or lead). This composite structure provides the lubricity and feeding performance of traditional metal jackets while reducing barrel wear and metal deposits through the polymer coating layer.
2Strength
If hardened metal core is used, then armor defeating performance is improved, but fragmentation and collateral damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters by using a polymer core instead of hardened metal, while incorporating metal particles for ballistics performance. The polymer material can be formulated to fragment in a controlled manner upon impact, providing armor-piercing capability while limiting uncontrolled fragmentation and collateral damage.
3Productivity
If single tool or die is used for multiple applications, then manufacturing efficiency is improved, but manufacturing precision for different performance characteristics becomes difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves different performance characteristics by changing the material composition parameters (polymer type, metal particle content and distribution, core density) rather than changing the manufacturing tooling. This allows a single mold to produce projectiles with varying ballistics, penetration, and fragmentation characteristics by adjusting the material formulation.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If frangible design is used, then collateral damage is reduced, but structural integrity during flight becomes compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite structure where a polymer core contains embedded metal particles and a polymer jacketing layer. This composite design maintains structural integrity during flight through the cohesive polymer matrix, while enabling controlled fragmentation upon impact to reduce collateral damage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composite projectiles achieve superior wound channel performance, limit collateral damage, and enhance safety by disintegrating predictably upon impact, reducing barrel wear, and enabling a single tool or die to produce various applications, thus improving operational efficiency and safety.
Implementation Method 1
Certain embodiments utilize melt-flow processing to produce composite projectiles
Implementation Method 2
Certain embodiments comprise a composite projectile using a polyamide polymer as a binding agent in the manufacture of a composite material
Implementation Method 3
The jacketing material offers a higher level of lubricity for reduced reloading failures as well as reduced friction and wear on parts of the firearm
Implementation Method 4
Molded projects disclosed herein are designed to fully disintegrate upon impact with a sufficiently hard target
Data Source
AI summary
Composite projectiles include various material compositions, diameters, and cavities within the projectiles having a variety of cavity diameters, sidewalls, and bottoms selected and formed to induce different levels of penetration and disintegration of the composite projectiles upon impact with targets.