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Enhanced hypervelocity launcher - capabilities to 16 km/s
- Source :
- International Journal of Impact Engineering. 17:183-194
- Publication Year :
- 1995
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 1995.
-
Abstract
- A systematic study is described which has led to the successful launch of thin flier plates to velocities of 16 km/s. The energy required to launch a flier plate to 16 km/s is approximately 10 to 15 times the energy required to melt and vaporize the plate. The energy must, therefore, be deposited in a well-controlled manner to prevent melt or vaporization. This is achieved by using a graded-density assembly to impact a stationary flier-plate. Upon impact, time-dependent, structured, high pressure pulses are generated and used to propel the plates to hypervelocities without melt or fracture. In previous studies, a graded-density impact of 7.3 km/s was used to launch a 0.5 mm thick plate to a velocity of over 12 km/s. If impact techniques alone were to be used to achieve flier-plate velocities approaching 16 km/s, this would require that the graded-density impact occur at - 10 km/s. In this paper, we describe a new technique that has been implemented to enhance the performance of the Sandia hypervelocity launcher. This technique of creating an impact-generated acceleration reservoir, has allowed the launch of 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm thick plates to record velocities up to 15.8 km/s. In these experiments, both titanium (Ti-6A1-4V) and aluminum (6061-T6) alloy were used for the flier-plate material. These are the highest metallic projectile plate velocities ever achieved for masses in the range of 0.1 g to 1 g.
- Subjects :
- Engineering
Range (particle radiation)
business.industry
Projectile
Mechanical Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Ocean Engineering
Acceleration
Optics
Mechanics of Materials
High pressure
Automotive Engineering
Vaporization
Hypervelocity
Fracture (geology)
Thick plate
Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
business
Civil and Structural Engineering
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 0734743X
- Volume :
- 17
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal of Impact Engineering
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........05d676949947808e6e8d9db1ab553982
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/0734-743x(95)99845-i