Frangible Compartment Mixing for Projectile Impact Marking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing impact marking projectiles are not fully reliable due to frangible partitions sometimes withstanding acceleration and centrifugal forces during launch, preventing the mixing of chemi-luminescent components.
Innovation Solution
Designing frangible compartments that utilize centrifugal forces, induced by the projectile's rotation in the barrel, to break and mix liquid chemical components, ensuring they react before impact, with additional dry powder for daytime marking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If frangible partitions are used to separate chemi-luminescent components, then the components remain separated during storage, but the partitions sometimes withstand acceleration and centrifugal forces during launch, preventing reliable mixing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-positioning frangible elements (such as frangible pins or weak points) in specific locations within the compartments. These elements are designed to fail under centrifugal force during rotation, ensuring the partition breaks at the predetermined moment when mixing is required, rather than relying on the partition to withstand forces throughout launch.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of the partition's mechanical strength by using materials or designs with controlled fracture properties. The frangible partition is engineered to have strength parameters that allow it to remain intact during storage and initial acceleration, but to fail reliably when centrifugal forces exceed a specific threshold during projectile rotation, enabling controlled mixing at the appropriate time.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If frangible partitions are made stronger to withstand launch forces, then components remain separated longer, but mixing does not occur reliably at impact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses preliminary action by incorporating frangible elements positioned to fail at specific moments during flight. These elements are pre-designed to break under centrifugal force during rotation, ensuring that mixing occurs at the predetermined time and location, rather than relying on the partition to maintain separation until impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dynamics by making the partition's structural integrity time-dependent through rotational failure. The partition transitions from a static barrier to a dynamic system where centrifugal force during rotation creates stress exceeding the frangible element's strength, causing controlled failure and mixing at the appropriate phase of projectile flight.
3Reliability
If centrifugal force is used to break compartments and mix chemicals, then mixing is more reliable, but the projectile must rotate at sufficient speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the mixing function in specific localized regions where frangible elements are positioned. Rather than requiring the entire projectile to achieve high rotation speeds, the design creates localized stress concentration points that fail at lower rotational velocities, enabling reliable mixing without demanding extreme overall rotation speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of the frangible element's fracture strength to match the expected centrifugal forces at operational rotation speeds. By carefully selecting materials and geometries with specific strength parameters, the system ensures that mixing occurs reliably at the intended rotation speed range without requiring excessively high velocities.
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 reliably marks the point of impact both day and night by ensuring complete mixing of chemi-luminescent or exothermic components before impact, providing consistent and effective marking.
Implementation Method 1
they utilize centrifugal forces to initiate mixing. Upon launch of the projectile, the projectile rotation that is induced by lands and grooves in the barrel of the weapon imparts a centrifugal force on one or more masses that are suspended in the chemical components disposed within their respective compartments.
Implementation Method 2
Marking projectiles which use chemi-luminescent materials for marking their impact by night are also known.
Implementation Method 3
The liquid chemical components of the marking agent are preferably either chemi-luminescent or exothermic, or both.
Data Source
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AI summary
A marking projectile comprises separate compartments that break during launch due to rotation of the projectile as it leaves the barrel of a weapon. Metal pellets contained within the compartments are pressed outward and pierce the compartment walls. This allows for mixing of chemical materials contained within the compartments, so that the materials substantially react by the time the projectile strikes a target. The chemical materials may be a pair of chemi-luminescent components, or components that create heat for thermal marking.