Decoy Body Combustion Reliability via Pressure Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dummy target active bodies fail to reliably burn at high flow velocities and high altitudes, especially under low oxygen conditions, and are prone to performance losses due to wind and pressure effects, leading to incomplete combustion and reduced radiation output.
Innovation Solution
A dummy target active body with a pyrotechnic active mass surrounded by a structure that maintains higher gas pressure on its surface than the environment, decoupling it from external conditions and enhancing burn rate and radiation efficiency through a combustion chamber design with controlled gas flow and a redox catalyst for improved spectral radiation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the active mass is exposed to external environment during combustion, then the structure is simpler, but the burning is affected by wind and pressure causing unreliable combustion at high flow velocities
Solution Approach 1:
A porous structure is introduced as an intermediary between the active mass and the external environment. This porous structure allows gas products to escape while maintaining a controlled interface that protects the active mass from direct exposure to wind and pressure fluctuations, thereby ensuring reliable combustion across varying flight conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous structure acts as a flexible interface that adapts to pressure changes while maintaining its protective function. The porous nature allows it to be permeable to gases while still providing a stable combustion environment, similar to how flexible membranes provide protection while allowing controlled interaction with the environment.
2Productivity
If the gas pressure on the active mass surface is equal to environmental pressure, then the gas can flow away freely, but the burn rate decreases at high altitudes with low oxygen content
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the pressure parameter at the combustion interface by using a porous structure that maintains a pressure gradient. This allows the gas pressure on the active mass surface to differ from environmental pressure, enabling consistent burn rates regardless of external oxygen availability or altitude conditions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If channels are added to the active mass block to enable internal initiation, then the combustion can occur at high altitudes, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of embedding channels within the active mass block, the invention extracts the channel function and replaces it with a separate porous structure. This porous structure provides the necessary gas flow paths without requiring complex internal channeling within the active mass itself, thereby achieving altitude adaptability with reduced overall complexity.
4Reliability
If a protective cap and film are added to prevent premature opening, then the active mass is protected during ejection, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The porous structure serves as a simple, inexpensive protective element that fulfills its function during ejection and combustion without requiring complex protective caps or films. Its porous nature inherently provides the necessary protection while being simple and cost-effective to manufacture.
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 solution ensures reliable burning and increased radiation output across a broader area, independent of wind speed and altitude, with improved spectral ratio and burn rate, allowing for the use of active masses with negative oxygen balance that would not burn otherwise, and easier ignition.
Implementation Method 1
a pyrotechnic active mass and a structure surrounding the active mass
Implementation Method 2
gas produced by the structure is prevented from flowing away from the active mass in such a way that there is a higher gas pressure on 100% of the entire surface of the active mass than outside the structure
Implementation Method 3
a redox catalyst for improved spectral radiation
Implementation Method 4
emission of (spectrally) target-like IR radiation
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a decoy target with a pyrotechnic active substance and a structure surrounding the active substance, wherein the structure surrounds the active substance in such a way that gas produced during combustion of the active substance is prevented from flowing away from the active substance by the structure in such a way that a higher gas pressure is present on at least 65% of the total surface of the active substance than outside the structure.