Study of Propellant Characteristic Effects on Pressure Waves for Low-Zone of a Bi-Modular Charge

Abstract

In this paper, the influence of the propellant characteristic on pressure waves for the lowzone of a Bi-modular charge was investigated by experiments and simulation using a interior ballistics two-phase flow model. The modular charge usually embodies two kinds of module types. One kind of module is the low-zone component that is fired either singly (zone-1) or in pairs (zone-2) to achieve minimum and intermediate ranges. When zone 2 with two separate low-zone modules is fired, the pressure wave usually will be serious in the chamber of gun. The web size and burning rates of the propellant are very important for influence on the pressure wave. A set of experiments has been done to study the pressure wave with different propellant characteristics. Also a two-phase, one-dimensional model of the interior ballistics and the relevant computer code have been developed to study the pressure wave when zone 2 in a Bi-modular charge was loaded in the chamber of gun with several different propellants. The simulation of the pressure wave for zone 2 in the modular charge shows good agreement between model and experimental measurements. The study results can serve as a guideline for optimizing the charge of zone 2 in a Bi-modular charge.