Solid propellant is the highly energetic fuel burnt in the combustion chamber of ballistic weapons. It is manufactured, for this purpose, in either granular or stick form. Internal ballistics describes the behavior within the combustion chamber throughout the ballistic cycle upto projectile exit from the muzzle of the gun barrel. Over the last twenty years this has been achieved by modelling the process using two-phase flow equations. The solid granules or sticks constitute the first phase, which can be assumed to be incompressible over typical pressure ranges within the chamber. The gas-phase is composed of both the original ambient gas contained around the propellant and additional gas produced by the propellant gasifying on heating. Equations can be derived that describe the conservation of mass, momentum and energy in terms of average flow variables. The equations are a highly non-linear system of partial-differential- equations. High-speed flow features are observed in internal ballistics and ordinary fini te- difference methods are unsuitable numerical methods due to inaccurate prediction of discontinuous flow features. Modern shock-capturing methods are employed, which solve the system of equations in conservation form, with the ability to capture shocks and contact discontinuities. However, although the numerical solutions compare well with experiment over the bulk of the combustion chamber, the ignition models used in internal ballistics are unreliable. These are based on either gas or solid-surface temperature achieving some empirically measured 'ignition temperature' after which the propellant burns according to an empirical pressure dependent burning law. Observations indicate that this is not an adequate representation of ignition. Time differences between first solid gasification and ignition imply two distinct processes occurring. ]Further, ignition occurring in gas-only regions indicates that ignition is controlled by a gas-phase reaction. This thesis develops simple ideas to describe possible mechanisms for these physical observations. The aim is to provide an improved model of the ignition of solid propellant. A two stage reaction process is described involving endothermic gasification of the solid, to produce a source of reactant gas, followed by a very exothermic gas-phase ignition reaction. Firstly the gas-phase ignition is considered. A very simple reaction is suggested which is assumed to control the combustion of reactant gas, produced by solid gasification. Ignition is, by definition, the initiation of this exothermic reaction. Chemical kinetics are included in the gas-phase flow equations to explore the evolution of the reactant gas that is subject to changes in temperature and pressure. By assuming spatial uniformity, analytical solutions of the problem are deduced. The physical interpretation of the solution is discussed, in particular, the relationship between temperature, reactant concentration and ignition is explored. Numerical methods are required to solve the one-dimensional flow equations. Development of suitable CFD methods provides a method of solution. Finite-volume schemes, based on the original work by Godunov, are used to solve the conservation form of the equations. A simple test problem is considered whereby reactant gas is injected into a cylindrical combustion chamber. By examining the resulting flow histories, valuable information is gathered about the complicated coupling of chemistry and flow. Chemistry is included into a system of two-phase flow equations. By using standard averaging methods along with an equation for gas-phase species, equations are derived that describe the rate of change of average flo%v variables for both gas and particle phases. Numerical schemes are developed and some of the difficulties involved in two-phase flow systems, that are not an issue in single-phase flow, are presented. An internal ballistics application is considered as a test case and the solution discussed. The other important reaction involved in the combustion cycle, solid gasification, is explored. The model is based on detailed description of interphase mass and energy transfer at the solid-gas interface. This involves the solution of the heat conduction equation with a moving boundary that divides the solid and gas regions. Similar numerical schemes are constructed to solve the equations. Finally, this model is coupled with the equations of gas-phase reaction. This describes the complete cycle whereby increases in gas temperature cause the solid to increase in temperature and gasify. Subsequent gas-phase combustion of the reactant gases produces heat-transfer between the solid and gas and continues to accelerate gasification. Eventually this results in selfsustained combustion of the solid propellant.

This Project is an investigation to determine the position that a 17th Century musket ball was fired from a musket, when given the position it was found on the battlefield. Prior to this research the main concerns with making predictions were considered to be associated with the deformed shape of the musket balls affecting their drag coefficient and therefore, their distance to ground impact. The distance they would continue after impact due to bounce and roll was unknown. Previous research has been used and built upon to recreate the conditions of the English Civil War as accurately as possible. It was found that the average distance to ground impacts were in good agreement with predictions using the drag coefficient for a sphere showing that the distorted shape resulting from the firing process of the musket ball made little difference to its drag coefficient in the majority of cases. However, the distance travelled after the first ground impact greatly exceeded expectations, with the musket balls almost doubling the total average distance to their final resting positions - an increase of 81%. From these findings the initial factors thought to have had high relevance to the final resting position of the musket ball (velocity variation and drag co-efficient) become less significant and factors such as ground hardness become more prominent. The knowledge gained during this investigation will re-establish more accurate information to be obtained on the firing positions of opposing forces during conflicts in the English Civil War.

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Motivation Ce document synthétise un travail de quatre années relatif à l'étude des phénomènes dynamiques rencontrés dans une arme de petit calibre. Jusqu'à présent, des efforts ont été réalisés pour simuler des armes de gros calibre, avec plus ou moins de succès. L'adaptation directe de ces méthodes au petit calibre est, la plupart du temps, décevante car peu précise. De plus, le coût des essais en arme de petit calibre, relativement faible par rapport à des essais en armes de calibre plus important, a contribué au désintérêt des études dans ce domaine. Encore aujourd'hui, des fabriquants d'armes de renommée internationale ne disposent pas de modèles pour le petit calibre. Celui-ci a été, et reste encore aujourd'hui, le parent pauvre des simulations numériques en balistique intérieure. A l'heure actuelle, de nombreuses recherches sont entreprises dans le cadre des canons électriques ou électromagnétiques. Ces armes, qui représentent peut-être le futur de la balistique, ne sont encore qu'à un stade fort éloigné d'une utilisation effective et opérationnelle. La situation est donc assez paradoxale : les armes de petit calibre sont les plus utilisées (dans le cadre d'une utilisation militaire, sportive ou à des fins de tests) mais il n'existe, à proprement parler, que peu de modèles mathématiques permettant une simulation précise et rigoureuse. Dans ce contexte, ce travail va démontrer que des modèles de balistique intérieure peuvent être utilisés avec succès pour la simulation de tirs en armes de petit calibre. Une des originalités de ce travail consiste en l'utilisation d'un logiciel de CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics} comme squelette d'un simulateur de la balistique intérieure, et à son application sur des armes de petit calibre. L'approche employée permet de dissocier les aspects "mécanique des fluides" et traitement de l'écoulement, des aspects purement balistiques. Nous nous attacherons donc à évaluer la capacité d'un code CFD à fonctionner dans l'environnement particulier de la simulation du "coup de canon". Plan du travail Cette thèse peut être subdivisée en quatre différentes parties. La première partie, plutôt générale, vise à situer le problème dans son contexte. Elle débute par une introduction rapide à la balistique, et s'attarde sur les buts de la balistique intérieure en mettant l'accent sur les particularités des armes de petit calibre, le cas échéant. La simulation sur ordinateur est un aspect important du problème qui doit nécessairement être mis en rapport avec des résultats réels. C'est pourquoi la chaîne de mesure utilisée classiquement en balistique, ainsi que les dispositifs expérimentaux employés pour obtenir des résultats de validation, sont brièvement présentés dans la deuxième partie. La troisième partie est axée sur les modèles. Nous présentons les principaux types de modèles que l'on peut retrouver en balistique intérieure. Les modèles à paramètres globaux et à paramètres locaux sont développés et nous formulons quelques remarques générales au sujet de l'état de l'art dans ce domaine, avant de nous interroger sur la problématique du choix d'un logiciel CFD adapté à l'utilisation visée. Nous présentons alors le logiciel choisi, et détaillons les modèles qu'il utilise pour tenir compte des particularités de la balistique intérieure. Le mouvement du projectile dans l'arme, la combustion et le traitement du problème diphasique sont notamment passés en revue et développés. Mobidic (Mobidic est l'acronyme de : MOdélisation Balistique Intérieure DIphasique Canon) est un logiciel français que nous avons obtenu vers la fin de cette étude. Ce logiciel est reconnu pour sa capacité à modéliser précisément les tirs en arme de moyen et gros calibre. Son fonctionnement et les modèles qu'il utilise sont exposés et comparés à notre implémentation. La quatrième et dernière partie n'est certainement pas la moins importante. Elle présente les résultats issus des tirs que nous avons réalisés et les différentes étapes de validation qui ont été menées à bien, depuis les tests de base jusqu'à la validation totale dans deux armes de petit calibre. Enfin, les conclusions, remarques et directions futures clôturent ce travail.

Currently, two methods exist to determine trajectory of a ballistic penetrator: Poncelet Analysis and Differential Area Force Law (DAFL) methods. An exact solution for the Poncelet Equation exists; making for easy computation. However, the one dimensional nature of the equation fails to capture the intricate three-dimensional nature of real world ballistic penetrator trajectories. The DAFL methods employ empirically derived stress algorithms to calculate to forces acting on a differential area of a projectile. These stresses are then used to determine the forces and moments acting on the differential areas. These forces and moments are then used to solve the equations of motion to determine the trajectory of the ballistic penetrator. The DAFL methods accurately capture the three dimensional nature of the penetrator's trajectory, but are computationally intensive which make them slow. The Integrated Force Law (IFL) method combines the computational ease of the Poncelet Analysis with the accuracy of the DAFL methods. In IFL, the projectile shape is modeled as a polynomial. The stress algorithms used in the DAFL methods are them numerically integrated over the top and bottom surfaces of the projectile to determine the force and moment acting on the top and bottom half of the weapon. These two forces and moments are then used to solve the equations of motion. J-hook trajectories are solved in less than 40 seconds and stable trajectories are solved in less than three seconds.

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a general introduction to the field of forensic ballistics. The thesis is based on the analysis and comparison of numerous Czech and international monographies and articles, as well as on findings derived from a supervised visit to the Institute of Criminalistics Prague. As such, it provides a compact and up-to-date overview of forensic ballistics in the Czech Republic. The thesis is composed of eight chapters followed by a bibliography, an abstract and keywords. Chapter One is introductory and lays out the purpose of the thesis, the goals and the methods used. Chapter Two takes a closer look at the history and evolution of forensic ballistics, both abroad and in Czechoslovakia. Chapter Three answers the question "What is forensic ballistics?" in detail. It contains a definition of forensic ballistics and provides a reader with information about the main purpose of forensic ballistics. Chapters Four to Six are the core of the thesis. Chapter four deals with the objects examined by the forensic ballistics and is therefore subdivided into four parts, addressing each object separately: firearms, ammunition, objects struck by a bullet, and further material and immaterial objects. Chapter Five concentrates on ballistic marks and as such is subdivided into five...

The research object is to develop, verify and validate computational models of small arms ammunition bullets (calibre up to 12.7mm) and bullet-target interaction. Applying the developed computational models, the ballistic processes of small arms ammunition bullets have to be investigated and the main dynamic properties of such processes need to be obtained.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-06-07Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:05:03Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 garzonlama_jl_dr_guara.pdf: 4790496 bytes, checksum: bd92c740a21bcbd96af03f1db78bb5c8 (MD5) / O estudo de fenômenos balísticos abrange muitas formas empíricas. Porém, estudos teóricos também permitem avaliar a profundidade de penetração, a condição de fragmentação de um projétil e sua energia ao impactar um alvo. Os principais parâmetros de desempenho que caracterizam uma blindagem balística são o limite balístico V50 e a variação da energia cinética que o projétil sofre durante o processo de penetração, denominada de energia de impacto. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar uma metodologia de análise que pode ser utilizada para estimar a variação de energia cinética absorvida por alvos metálicos, quando submetidos a impactos por projéteis, baseada em uma formulação empírica desenvolvida para a profundidade de penetração. Esta metodologia requer o uso de uma base de dados de impacto para a implementação do algoritmo de análise proposto. A versatilidade da metodologia proposta está em permitir o uso de diferentes formulações na estimativa da profundidade de penetração e na melhoria contínua do procedimento de estimativa, através da realimentação do banco de dados inicialmente gerado. Os resultados obtidos mostram que a metodologia proposta auxilia na elaboração de matrizes de ensaios balísticos, na racionalização do número de ensaios necessários para o desenvolvimento de blindagens, na escolha de materiais e espessuras ideais, correlacionando-os de acordo com o nível de proteção balística solicitada, adotando-se a melhor solução em termos da relação peso / resistência, permitindo também estimar a profundidade adimensional de penetração e a variação da energia cinética em materiais metálicos com grandes e pequenas espessuras, quando submetidos a impactos entre diversos diâmetros de projéteis, sob velocidades próximas ao regime hidrodinâmico / The study of ballistic phenomenons encompasses many empirical forms, nevertheless, theoretical studies also allows us to assess the depth of penetration, the condition of fragmentation of a projectile and its energy to impact a target. The main parameters that characterize a shielding performance are the ballistic limit V50 and the change in kinetic energy that the projectile suffers during the penetration process, called impact energy. The objective of this work is to present an analysis methodology that can be used to estimate the variation of kinetic energy suffered by the impact of a projectile on a metal target, based on an empirical formulation developed for the penetration depth. This methodology requires the use of a impact data base to the implementation of the analysis algorithm proposed. The versatility of the methodology is to allow the use of different formulations to estimate the depth of penetration and the continuous improvement of the estimation procedure, through feedback from the database initially generated. The results have demonstrate that the proposed methodology helps in elaboration of arrays to ballistic tests, in rationalization of the number of tests required for the development of shields, in choosing materials and thicknesses ideals, correlating them according to the level of ballistic protection required, adopting the best solution in terms of weight / resistance, allowing also to estimate the dimensionless penetration depth and the variation of the kinetic energy in metallic materials with large and small thickness, when subjected to impacts between different projectile diameters under velocities close to the hydrodynamic regime

Orientador: Valdir Alves Guimarães / Coorientador: Maurício Guimarães da Silva / Banca: Edson Cocchieri Botelho / Banca: Diavana Aparecida dos Santos Napoleão / Banca: Mirabel Cerqueira Rezende / Banca: Francisco Cristóvão Lourenço de Melo / Resumo: O estudo de fenômenos balísticos abrange muitas formas empíricas. Porém, estudos teóricos também permitem avaliar a profundidade de penetração, a condição de fragmentação de um projétil e sua energia ao impactar um alvo. Os principais parâmetros de desempenho que caracterizam uma blindagem balística são o limite balístico V50 e a variação da energia cinética que o projétil sofre durante o processo de penetração, denominada de energia de impacto. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar uma metodologia de análise que pode ser utilizada para estimar a variação de energia cinética absorvida por alvos metálicos, quando submetidos a impactos por projéteis, baseada em uma formulação empírica desenvolvida para a profundidade de penetração. Esta metodologia requer o uso de uma base de dados de impacto para a implementação do algoritmo de análise proposto. A versatilidade da metodologia proposta está em permitir o uso de diferentes formulações na estimativa da profundidade de penetração e na melhoria contínua do procedimento de estimativa, através da realimentação do banco de dados inicialmente gerado. Os resultados obtidos mostram que a metodologia proposta auxilia na elaboração de matrizes de ensaios balísticos, na racionalização do número de ensaios necessários para o desenvolvimento de blindagens, na escolha de materiais e espessuras ideais, correlacionando-os de acordo com o nível de proteção balística solicitada, adotando-se a melhor solução em termos da relação peso / resistência, permitindo também estimar a profundidade adimensional de penetração e a variação da energia cinética em materiais metálicos com grandes e pequenas espessuras, quando submetidos a impactos entre diversos diâmetros de projéteis, sob velocidades próximas ao regime hidrodinâmico / Abstract: The study of ballistic phenomenons encompasses many empirical forms, nevertheless, theoretical studies also allows us to assess the depth of penetration, the condition of fragmentation of a projectile and its energy to impact a target. The main parameters that characterize a shielding performance are the ballistic limit V50 and the change in kinetic energy that the projectile suffers during the penetration process, called impact energy. The objective of this work is to present an analysis methodology that can be used to estimate the variation of kinetic energy suffered by the impact of a projectile on a metal target, based on an empirical formulation developed for the penetration depth. This methodology requires the use of a impact data base to the implementation of the analysis algorithm proposed. The versatility of the methodology is to allow the use of different formulations to estimate the depth of penetration and the continuous improvement of the estimation procedure, through feedback from the database initially generated. The results have demonstrate that the proposed methodology helps in elaboration of arrays to ballistic tests, in rationalization of the number of tests required for the development of shields, in choosing materials and thicknesses ideals, correlating them according to the level of ballistic protection required, adopting the best solution in terms of weight / resistance, allowing also to estimate the dimensionless penetration depth and the variation of the kinetic energy in metallic materials with large and small thickness, when subjected to impacts between different projectile diameters under velocities close to the hydrodynamic regime / Doutor

Forensic ballistics Abstract This thesis deals with one of the disciplines falling under forensic science, forensic ballistics. Forensic ballistics is a forensic field focused on firearms, ammunition and other objects used in shooting incidents associated with committing a crime. The aim of this thesis is to provide a basic explanation of the term forensic ballistics, ballistics evidence and briefly describe the most important methods of ballistics examination. At the end is also mentioned the legislation of firearms and ammunition. The diploma is divided into five chapters. First chapter is focused on the history of forensic ballistics, one part of this chapter describes the history on the territory of the Czech Republic, the other part deals with worldwide history. This section is complemented by several case that have become significant milestones for forensic ballistics, such as the case of Charles Stielow from the US state of New York. The following chapter provides a definition of forensic ballistics, its purpose and divides ballistics into several parts. Forensic ballistics is composed of four basic areas internal, intermediate, external and terminal ballistics and two others dealing with phenomena occur before and after the actual shot prenatal and postterminal ballistics. In the other part of the...