Penetrator Insert Channel for Protected Electrical Conductors

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing penetrators lack the ability to efficiently incorporate electrical or electronic conductors, leading to potential damage during environmental testing and challenges in producing a long, thin bore.

Innovation Solution

A penetrator design with a bore along its central axis and inserts or inner tubes to create a protected passage for electrical or electronic conductors, using cylinder blocks or threaded studs for centering and alignment, allowing for a continuous channel within the penetrator.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If a long, thin bore is formed directly in the penetrator body, then a continuous channel for conductors is achieved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to wear and accuracy issues

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of conductor channel formationVSAvoidbore accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The penetrator body is divided into multiple cylindrical segments or blocks that are assembled together. Each segment contains a portion of the conductor passage, which is formed separately with higher precision. This segmentation allows the long bore to be constructed from multiple shorter, more accurately formed sections, avoiding the wear and accuracy issues of forming a single long thin bore in one piece.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

An intermediary component or tooling system is used during manufacturing to maintain precision when forming the conductor passage. This could involve precision-machined mandrels, modular forming tools, or precision定位 fixtures that ensure each segment's passage is formed with high accuracy before assembly, preventing the wear-related accuracy degradation that would occur with direct long-bore formation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Strength

If the penetrator is made of high-strength tungsten heavy metal, then terminal ballistic performance is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates due to difficulty in forming channels

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveterminal ballistic performanceVSAvoidease of channel formation
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The penetrator is manufactured as multiple segments that are later assembled. This allows the high-strength tungsten heavy metal to be formed into manageable pieces with embedded conductor passages using standard manufacturing processes, rather than attempting to form a complete long penetrator with a thin bore in one piece, which would be extremely difficult due to the material's strength and hardness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The conductor passages are formed in each segment before the final penetrator assembly. This preliminary action allows the passages to be created when the material is in a more workable state or when smaller sections are being manufactured, avoiding the need to form a long thin bore through the entire length of the high-strength penetrator material, which would be manufacturingly challenging.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of operation

If conductors are exposed in the penetrator, then electrical connectivity is achieved, but reliability deteriorates due to damage from environmental factors during testing

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveelectrical connectivityVSAvoidconductor protection from environmental factors
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The electrical conductors are nested within the penetrator structure, specifically housed within passages formed in the cylindrical segments. This nesting provides physical protection for the conductors, shielding them from environmental factors such as powder, moisture, and mechanical damage that occur during environmental testing, while still maintaining electrical connectivity through the nested passage structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

Data Source

PatentEP4437300B1Penetrator, use of a penetrator, projectile and cartridge ammunition
Publication Date: 2025.12.31 RHEINMETALL WAFFE MUNITION GMBH
  • EP4437300B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4437300B1 patent drawingFigure 2a~2c
  • EP4437300B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The invention relates to a penetrator (10) for a projectile (100), in particular a sub-caliber kinetic energy projectile, wherein the penetrator (10) has a terminal-ballistic body (12) for attacking an armoured target, wherein a hole (16) is formed in the body (12), which extends along or parallel to the central longitudinal axis (14) of the body (12) entirely or along a predominant portion of the length of the body (12), wherein at least one exactly fitting insert part (22) is introduced into the hole (16), which has a through-opening (24) extending along or parallel to the central longitudinal axis (14') of the insert part (22) for guiding through an electrical or electronic line (26).