Projectile Base Cone System for Drag Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional projectile designs face issues with drag, complexity, and instability due to moving parts and changing aerodynamic properties, leading to reduced performance and increased risk of malfunction during high-speed rotation.

Innovation Solution

A fixed cone system with a larger base area for propellant to push against, incorporating a chamber with an annular opening that allows pressurized gas to exert force against a forward wall, stabilizing the projectile and reducing drag by maintaining a predictable center of gravity and pressure, and minimizing parts for ease of manufacturing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If a boattail or cone is used at the rear of the projectile to reduce drag, then aerodynamic performance is improved, but the complexity of manufacturing and the number of moving parts increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovedragVSAvoidcomplexity of manufacturing

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the cone structure from the traditional boattail design and places it at the rear of the projectile, creating a separate cone-shaped component that can be independently manufactured and attached. This separation allows for simpler manufacturing of individual components while achieving the desired aerodynamic effect.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The projectile is divided into distinct segments: the main body, the cone-shaped rear portion, and the chamber. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured separately using optimized processes, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining aerodynamic performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Object-affected harmful factors

If expandable boat tails or cones are used to fill the vacuum behind the bullet, then drag is reduced, but the probability of failure during deployment increases due to moving parts

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovedragVSAvoidprobability of failure

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of using an expandable structure that changes shape during flight, the patent inverts the approach by using a fixed cone structure that is already in its final position. This eliminates the deployment mechanism and associated failures while maintaining the aerodynamic benefit of the cone shape.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The cone structure is designed to be self-contained and fixed, requiring no active deployment mechanisms. The chamber and cone work together as a static system that automatically provides aerodynamic stabilization without risking failure of moving parts during high-speed flight.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Object-affected harmful factors

If the cone is extended to increase aerodynamic shape, then drag is reduced, but the center of gravity and center of pressure change during deployment

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovedragVSAvoidcenter of gravity and center of pressure

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The cone structure is pre-positioned at the rear of the projectile during manufacturing, establishing the final aerodynamic configuration before flight. This preliminary placement ensures that the center of gravity and center of pressure remain fixed and predictable throughout the flight, eliminating instability during deployment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Speed

If a larger base area is provided for propellant to push against, then muzzle velocity is increased, but the structural complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemuzzle velocityVSAvoidstructural complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The chamber and cone structure are merged into a single integrated component or closely coupled assembly. This merging allows the propellant to push against the larger base area of the chamber while the cone structure provides aerodynamic stabilization, achieving increased velocity without proportionally increasing overall structural complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS10139207B2Projectile having increased velocity and aerodynamic performance

Publication Date: 2018.11.27 ADAMS RICHARD D

AI summary

A streamlined projectile is disclosed that includes a base or rear having a plurality of concentric sections located within each other at the aft of the projectile and in successively smaller sizes. Within each concentric section is a chamber having a wall perpendicular to expanding combustion gasses, with the total area of these walls being greater than an area of the rear of the projectile itself. This creates a larger projectile base for a propellant to push against and for that explosion to be held within the section chamber for a longer period than that of a standard boattail or flat-tail projectile. In addition, the concentric sections at least partially negate atmospheric drag by occupying the region behind the projectile where a partial vacuum forms, resulting in a projectile that will go faster and further for a given propellant charge.