Rear Illumination Projectile Transparent Boat Tail
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional training projectiles often fail to reliably provide visual and audible signals upon impact, leading to potential early detonation, delayed detonation, or obscured visibility, especially at night or when partially buried.
Innovation Solution
The projectile design includes a transparent boat tail and ogive with a cavity housing flash-producing materials and an oxidizer, along with powder channels and a detonator system that ensures a rapid and visible flash and smoke signature upon impact, preventing premature detonation and enhancing visibility from multiple angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional powders, energetic flash mixtures, flash bulbs, or chemical glow stick interiors are used for visual signals, then visual signals can be produced, but reliability deteriorates due to potential early detonation, delayed detonation, or duds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the flash-producing material from the traditional complex ignition system and places it in a separate rear cavity, isolated from the main propellant charge. This separation eliminates the risk of early detonation while ensuring reliable ignition through the dedicated firing pin mechanism that directly contacts the flash material upon impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The projectile is segmented into distinct functional zones: a front cavity containing the propellant charge and a rear cavity containing the flash-producing material. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component's reliability and simplifies the ignition system for each zone, reducing overall system complexity while improving signal reliability.
2Illumination intensity
If thermal, smoke, and flash signals deploy from the top or rear of the ammunition, then signals can be generated, but visibility deteriorates when the projectile impacts the ground first
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of deploying signals from the top or rear as in conventional designs, this patent positions the flash-producing material in the rear cavity to face forward toward the impact direction. When the projectile nose impacts the ground first, the rear cavity is driven forward, causing the flash material to be ejected forward and upward, ensuring visibility regardless of impact orientation.
3Illumination intensity
If a transparent boat tail is used, then visibility of impact signatures is improved, but structural strength may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The boat tail is constructed from transparent or translucent materials that allow the flash signal to pass through while maintaining sufficient structural strength. The transparency enables observers to see the flash signal from behind the projectile, enhancing visibility without requiring additional signal deployment mechanisms.
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 provides reliable and visible impact signatures at all times, simulating real combat effects while preventing field fires and hazardous duds, ensuring safe and accurate training with improved visibility and safety features.
Implementation Method 1
a flash producing material disposed within the cavity
Implementation Method 2
an oxidizer disposed in a constrained volume within the projectile body, and a plurality of powder channels disposed between the oxidizer and an external sidewall of the projectile body
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of ammunition rounds for training or tactical purposes. In one or more embodiments, the projectile is equipped to transmit an improved visual signature upon impact, including one or both of flash and smoke signatures. In one example, a projectile includes a projectile body, an ogive coupled to the projectile body, and a boat tail having a degree of transparency coupled to the projectile body. The boat tail having a degree of transparency and the projectile body define a cavity within the boat tail having a degree of transparency and the projectile body. A flash producing material is disposed within the cavity.