ASSESSMENT OF A STRONG COUPLING APPROACH BETWEEN SOLID PROPELLANT COMBUSTION AND STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF A KINETIC ENERGY PROJECTILE

Abstract

The in-bore transverse loads induced by the motion of the weapon and the inertial body forces induced by the motion of the propellant are often neglected when assessing the structural integrity of a kinetic energy projectile. It can be a drawback for APFSDS projectile with long rod penetrators. This issue may be overcome if the distribution of the main interior ballistic parameters (pressure and temperature) are correctly estimate in space and time. However, a realistic coupled simulation of the phenomena that take place within the interior ballistic cycle requires a great deal of effort and computerized resources. Two main methods are generally used: (i) the Euler-Euler method and (ii) the Euler-Lagrange method. In this paper, The *MAT_POWDER_BURN of IMPETUS AFEA is used to deal with the combustion of solid propellant. This method could lead to a strong coupling between the solid propellant combustion and the structural integrity of a projectile.1