The Evaluation of Computational Fluid Dynamics Methods for Design of Muzzle Blast Suppressors for Firearms

Suppression of muzzle blast is important in both large and small caliber gun designs. Key goals in the case of small caliber systems are the reduction in the incidence of hearing loss due to the acoustic signal and signature reduction for military applications. Various devices have been used to reduce the muzzle blast, and the design of these devices has relied heavily on experimental investigation. The current study evaluates the utility of computational models in the design of suppressors for small caliber guns. Experimental measurements are made for a representative suppressor design and simulations are performed to determine the level of model sophistication needed to correctly predict the effects of the device. The current simulations correctly capture both the levels and characteristics of the acoustic signal generated by the bare muzzle and suppressor configurations. These findings support the use of computational models in the suppressor design process.