Off-on Explosive Warhead with Segmented Detonation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional warhead designs fail to reliably detonate explosives below their critical thickness/diameter, affecting lethality and accuracy in military and commercial applications.

Innovation Solution

A warhead design featuring a casing with explosive segments and spacers, a removable nose cap, and a bias member (such as a piston) that compresses the segments to create a continuous explosive layer above critical thickness for reliable detonation, ensuring the warhead can transition from an 'off' to an 'on' position.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If explosive segments are used below critical thickness, then the warhead can be made more compact and safer to handle, but reliable detonation cannot be achieved

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereliable detonationVSAvoidexplosive thickness

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLength of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The explosive is divided into multiple discrete segments separated by spacers, allowing each segment to be below critical thickness for safety while maintaining the ability to achieve reliable detonation when compressed together. The segmentation enables the explosive to be stored in a safe, sub-critical state and activated to a super-critical state when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The warhead transitions from a static, safe configuration with spaced segments to a dynamic, active configuration where segments are compressed together. The bias member (spring or piston) provides the mechanical force to dynamically change the explosive configuration from sub-critical to super-critical thickness upon activation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If spacers are used to separate explosive segments, then the warhead can be made safer and more compact, but the explosive segments cannot form a continuous layer for reliable detonation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedetonation reliabilityVSAvoidsafety and compactness

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The spacers are pre-positioned between explosive segments during assembly to maintain safe separation and compactness. These spacers are designed to be removable or compressible, allowing them to be eliminated from the explosive assembly upon activation, enabling the segments to form a continuous layer for reliable detonation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The spacers are extracted or removed from between the explosive segments during the transition from safe storage to active detonation state. This extraction allows the explosive segments to come into direct contact and form a continuous layer, achieving reliable detonation while maintaining safety during storage and transport.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Reliability

If the explosive segments are compressed together to form a continuous layer, then reliable detonation is achieved, but the warhead structure becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedetonation reliabilityVSAvoidwarhead structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple functional elements are merged into the bias member, which combines the spring or piston mechanism with the nose cap assembly. This integration reduces the number of separate components and simplifies the overall structure while still enabling the compression of explosive segments to form a continuous layer for reliable detonation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

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 enables controlled and reliable detonation of the warhead, maintaining lethality while ensuring safe handling and performance, and can be integrated into existing inventory without requiring new explosive fills, ensuring effective explosive performance in both 'off' and 'on' states.

Implementation Method 1

The removable bias member compresses the plurality of explosive segments together creating a continuous segment

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectCompression: Compression

Implementation Method 2

The continuous segment may be above an explosive failure thickness in the on position. The continuous segment may be configured to detonate upon reaching the failure thickness

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectDetonation: Detonation

Data Source

PatentUS10260849B2Off-on explosive warhead for high energy formulations with tailorable output performance

Publication Date: 2019.04.16 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THE AS REPRESENTED BY THE SEC OF THE ARMY

AI summary

A warhead includes a casing having a removable front portion, a plurality of explosive segments positioned in the casing, a plurality of spacers positioned in the casing and separating the plurality of explosive segments from each other, and a removable piston configured to be inserted inside the removable front portion of the casing, wherein the removable piston pushes against the plurality of explosive segments to create a continuous segment. The removable piston may push against the plurality of explosive segments to close the plurality of spacers and move the warhead from an off position to an on position. The continuous segment may be above an explosive failure thickness in the on position. The continuous segment may be configured to detonate upon reaching the failure thickness.