Simulation of dynamic compression and fracture of propellant charge in bore

Abstract

After many years of research, the main reason of breech blow caused by propellant charge is the large scale fracture which leaded by the compression of propellant. The description of the dynamic compression and fracture process involves not only the large motion of granular system consisting of large numbers of propellant particles, but also the deformation and fracture of every propellant particle. Hence, it has become a big problem all over the world. The discrete element method is used to study the compression and fracture process of propellant charge in bore in this paper. The results show that the fragmentation degree of the propellant charge at the bottom of projectile is the highest when launching, and the mechanism of breech blow caused by propellant charge is proved.