Comparative analysis of the effects of gunpowder and plasma ignition in closed vessel tests

This paper presents the results of a comparative investigation into the effects of the ignition method on the ballistic properties of a single-base gun propellant,as determined via closed vessel tests.Conventional gunpowder ignition and plasma jet ignition methods were used,and differences in the ignition time were analysed.The influence of the ignition method on the dynamic vivacity is discussed.It is shown that this influence is significant in the first phase of the combustion process,and with respect to the low values of the loading density.In the second phase of the combustion process,and for large values of the loading density,the dynamic vivacity plots for the two ignition methods converge.Regarding the burning law,close values of the exponent were obtained for the two ignition methods.The dynamic vivacity plots determined for plasma ignition reveal stronger dependence on the loading density than those determined for gunpowder ignition.The conclusion is that plasma ignition is not a solution to the problems inherent to the process of determining the ballistic properties of propellants,which results in deviation of the burning process from the geometric burning law.

Numerical simulation and optimized design of cased telescoped ammunition interior ballistic

In order to achieve the optimized design of a cased telescoped ammunition(CTA) interior ballistic design,a genetic algorithm was introduced into the optimal design of CTA interior ballistics with coupling the CTA interior ballistic model. Aiming at the interior ballistic characteristics of a CTA gun, the goal of CTA interior ballistic design is to obtain a projectile velocity as large as possible. The optimal design of CTA interior ballistic is carried out using a genetic algorithm by setting peak pressure, changing the chamber volume and gun powder charge density. A numerical simulation of interior ballistics based on a 35 mm CTA firing experimental scheme was conducted and then the genetic algorithm was used for numerical optimization. The projectile muzzle velocity of the optimized scheme is increased from 1168 m/s for the initial experimental scheme to 1182 m/s. Then four optimization schemes were obtained with several independent optimization processes. The schemes were compared with each other and the difference between these schemes is small. The peak pressure and muzzle velocity of these schemes are almost the same. The result shows that the genetic algorithm is effective in the optimal design of the CTA interior ballistics. This work will be lay the foundation for further CTA interior ballistic design.

Feng Jiasheng’s Diagrams of Iron Bombs(Huopao)and Beyond:On the Academic Significance of the Southern Song Iron Bombs(Huopao)Unearthed in Chongqing

The world’s earliest bomb with an iron casing,the iron huopao鐵火砲(cast-iron bomb,also referred to as zhentian lei震天雷,literally“thunder-crash bomb”),is one of the most important inventions of ancient China relating to gunpowder and firearms.Until recently,however,academics were not able to conduct substantial research on the topic,as no actual remains of a huopao had yet been found.Since 2013,in the excavation of two sites of Southern Song ancient cities(Diaoyu Fortress and Baidicheng)in Chongqing,archaeologists from the Chongqing Cultural Heritage Research Institute have discovered a number of iron huopao of the Southern Song dynasty.This finding not only provides first-hand material for research on the history of the invention of gunpowder and firearms,which has always been lacking,but also offers new physical evidence for an exploration of the history of war and the military history of the thirteenth century(in particular the Mongol-Song war),and is thus historically significant.

A Mathematical Model and a Method for the Calculation of the Downhole Pressure in Composite-Perforation Technological Processes

Using the conservation equations for mass,momentum and energy,a model is elaborated to describe the dynamics of high-energy gases in composite-perforation technological processes.The model includes a precise representation of the gunpowder combustion and related killing fluid displacement.Through numerical solution of such equations,the pressure distribution of the high-energy gas in fractures is obtained,and used to determine crack propagation.The accuracy of the model is verified by comparing the simulation results with actual measurements.