U.S. patent application number 12/374222 was filed with the patent office on 2009-12-17 for device for penetrating and exploding a target.
Invention is credited to Johnny E. Banks, Wayne K. Schroeder.
Application Number | 20090308272 12/374222 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39721748 |
Filed Date | 2009-12-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090308272 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schroeder; Wayne K. ; et
al. |
December 17, 2009 |
Device for Penetrating and Exploding a Target
Abstract
A lethality device includes a penetrator structure configured to
penetrate a target and an incendiary material disposed near the
penetrator structure. The incendiary material self-ignites and is
injected into the target after penetration of the target. A
projectile includes a penetrator structure configured to penetrate
a target, an incendiary material disposed near the penetrator
structure, and one or components other than the penetrator
structure and the incendiary material disposed aft of the
penetrator structure. Loads from the one or more components are
transferred to the penetrator structure upon impact with the
target. The incendiary material self-ignites and is injected into
the target after penetration of the target. A method for defeating
a target containing an ignitable material includes broaching or
puncturing an outer skin of the target, self-igniting an incendiary
material, injecting the ignited incendiary material into the
target, and igniting a material disposed within the target.
Inventors: |
Schroeder; Wayne K.;
(Mansfield, TX) ; Banks; Johnny E.; (Venus,
TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LAW OFFICES OF JAMES E. WALTON, PLLC
1169 N. BURLESON BLVD., SUITE 107-328
BURLESON
TX
76028
US
|
Family ID: |
39721748 |
Appl. No.: |
12/374222 |
Filed: |
July 20, 2007 |
PCT Filed: |
July 20, 2007 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US07/74001 |
371 Date: |
January 16, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60832366 |
Jul 21, 2006 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
102/364 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F42B 12/44 20130101;
F42B 12/08 20130101; F42B 12/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
102/364 |
International
Class: |
F42B 12/44 20060101
F42B012/44 |
Claims
1. A lethality device, comprising: a penetrator structure
configured to penetrate a target; and an incendiary material
disposed near the penetrator structure; wherein the incendiary
material self-ignites and is injected into the target after
penetration of the target.
2. The lethality device, according to claim 1, wherein the
lethality device is operably associated with a projectile such that
loads from one or more components of the projectile that are
disposed aft of the penetrator structure are transferred to the
penetrator structure upon impact with the target.
3. The lethality device, according to claim 1, wherein the
incendiary material comprises a material selected from the group
consisting of white phosphorous, michmetal, an explosive material,
a cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine-based substance, a
cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine-based substance, a pentaerythritol
tetranitrate-based substance, a binary mix of fuel and oxidizer,
thermite, a material containing a reactive metal, a material
containing lithium, a material containing sodium, a material
containing potassium, a material containing magnesium, a material
containing calcium, a material containing barium, and a material
containing cesium.
4. The lethality device, according to claim 1: wherein the target
contains a predetermined material having a burning temperature; and
the incendiary material burns at a higher temperature than the
burning temperature of the predetermined material of the
target.
5. A projectile, comprising: a penetrator structure configured to
penetrate a target; an incendiary material disposed near the
penetrator structure; and one or components other than the
penetrator structure and the incendiary material disposed aft of
the penetrator structure; wherein loads from the one or more
components are transferred to the penetrator structure upon impact
with the target; and wherein the incendiary material self-ignites
and is injected into the target after penetration of the
target.
6. The projectile, according to claim 5, wherein the incendiary
material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of
white phosphorous, michmetal, an explosive material, a
cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine-based substance, a
cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine-based substance, a pentaerythritol
tetranitrate-based substance, a binary mix of fuel and oxidizer,
thermite, a material containing a reactive metal, a material
containing lithium, a material containing sodium, a material
containing potassium, a material containing magnesium, a material
containing calcium, a material containing barium, and a material
containing cesium.
7. The projectile, according to claim 5, wherein the projectile is
configured to defeat the target by broaching or puncturing an outer
skin of the target.
8. The projectile, according to claim 5, wherein the projectile is
configured to defeat the target via non-hydrodynamic means.
9. The projectile, according to claim 5, wherein substantially an
entire weight of the projectile presses against the penetrator
structure when the projectile impacts the target.
10. The projectile, according to claim 5, wherein the one or more
components comprises at least one component selected from the group
consisting of a projectile case, an actuation system for operating
a plurality of control surfaces of the projectile, a battery, and a
bulkhead of the projectile.
11. The projectile, according to claim 5, wherein the one or more
components comprises: a bulkhead disposed aft of the penetrator
structure; a battery disposed aft of the bulkhead; an actuation
system for operating a plurality of control surfaces of the
projectile, the actuation system being disposed aft of the battery;
and a case of the projectile disposed aft of the actuation
system.
12. The projectile, according to claim 5: wherein the target
contains a predetermined material having a burning temperature; and
the incendiary material burns at a higher temperature than the
burning temperature of the predetermined material of the
target.
13. A method for defeating a target containing an ignitable
material, comprising: one of broaching and puncturing an outer skin
of the target; self-igniting an incendiary material; injecting the
ignited incendiary material into the target; and igniting a
material disposed within the target.
14. The method, according to claim 13, wherein one of broaching and
puncturing the outer skin of the target is accomplished at least in
part by transferring a load from a component of a projectile to a
penetrator structure upon impact of the projectile and the
target.
15. The method, according to claim 13, wherein one of broaching and
puncturing the outer skin of the target is accomplished by urging a
penetrator structure through the outer skin of the target by
non-hydrodynamic means.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a device for penetrating
and exploding a target.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
[0002] Targets such a rockets, artillery and mortars pose a
challenge to conventional lethality approaches to defeating them.
Conventional means include gun-launched projectiles or warhead
fragments. Both of these means rely upon large amounts of kinetic
energy to penetrate the target skin with sufficient energy
remaining to induce explosion. Propelling a small mass at high
speed, increasing the mass of a hypersonic projectile, or a
combination of both typically achieves this large amount of kinetic
energy. Blast-fragmentation warheads achieve hypervelocity
velocities by explosive force on the small projectiles.
[0003] Incendiary materials have been used with projectiles to
increase the velocity of penetrating devices by forming a shaped
charge or propelling a rod shape forward. In one conventional
device, an incendiary material is used to enhance behind armor
damage, but this has been with a hyper-velocity projectile and the
incendiary material is packaged within a hollow cylindrical
rod.
[0004] The challenge with the blast-fragmentation approach is that
it requires complex and sophisticated fuzing to initiate the
fragments so that some will be ensured to hit the target.
[0005] The challenge with the conventional approaches is that the
high accelerations required for the projectiles to reach the needed
hypervelocity speeds are not conducive to sensors and devices
needed to guide the projectiles. The challenge with guided
projectiles is that they reach the target at relatively low
supersonic speeds where kinetic energy is low.
[0006] There are many designs of devices to penetrate and explode a
target that are well known in the art; however, considerable
shortcomings remain.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The novel features believed characteristic of the invention
are set forth in the appended claims. However, the invention
itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, and further objectives
and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the
following detailed description when read in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which the leftmost significant digit(s)
in the reference numerals denote(s) the first figure in which the
respective reference numerals appear, wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a stylized, cross-sectional view of a portion of a
projectile incorporating one particular embodiment of a device
according to the present invention for penetrating and exploding a
target; and
[0009] FIGS. 2-4 are flow diagrams depicting various illustrative
embodiments of a method for penetrating and exploding a target.
[0010] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications
and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown
by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in
detail. It should be understood, however, that the description
herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the
invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary,
the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and
alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention
as defined by the appended claims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0011] Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described
below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual
implementation are described in this specification. It will of
course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual
embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made
to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with
system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary
from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be
appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and
time-consuming but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for
those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this
disclosure.
[0012] In the specification, reference may be made to the spatial
relationships between various components and to the spatial
orientation of various aspects of components as the devices are
depicted in the attached drawings. However, as will be recognized
by those skilled in the art after a complete reading of the present
application, the devices, members, apparatuses, etc. described
herein may be positioned in any desired orientation. Thus, the use
of terms such as "above," "below," "upper," "lower," or other like
terms to describe a spatial relationship between various components
or to describe the spatial orientation of aspects of such
components should be understood to describe a relative relationship
between the components or a spatial orientation of aspects of such
components, respectively, as the device described herein may be
oriented in any desired direction.
[0013] The invention relates in general to a lethality device
packaged within a guided missile to penetrate and cause explosion
of a target and more particularly to penetrating the outer skin and
subsequently raising the internal temperature and pressure of the
internal contents of the target by injecting incendiary material to
induce explosion.
[0014] The present invention allows a projectile of relatively
moderate speed to defeat these difficult targets such as in-flight
mortars. This is accomplished in a two step process. The first step
is penetrating the target. The second step is injecting the
incendiary material.
[0015] The first step is accomplished by designing the load path of
the host missile or projectile to be transferred to a forward
penetrator structure, such as a rod or pin component packaged in
the nose of the missile. In this manner, substantially the entire
weight of the missile puts pressure on the penetrator structure.
The mechanism of the defeat is a broaching or puncturing of the
outer skin. This is a structural failure by deformation rather than
the hydrodynamic failure induced by hypersonic projectiles.
[0016] The second step to defeating the target is by injecting
incendiary material inside the target shell. This is accomplished
by momentum transfer when the incendiary material is packaged
between the centrally-located penetrator structure and the outer
missile nose. The incendiary material (such as thermite) is self
igniting and burns at a temperature higher than that required to
ignite the internal contents of a target, such as a mortar.
[0017] In one particular embodiment, shown in FIG. 1, a projectile
101 includes a penetrator structure 103, such as a rod or pin,
disposed in a nose 105 of projectile 101. Disposed aft of nose 105
and penetrator structure 103 are various other systems and
structures of projectile 101 for operating projectile 101. In the
illustrated embodiment, a bulkhead 107 is disposed aft of
penetrator structure 103. A battery 109 is disposed aft of bulkhead
107. An actuation system 111 for operating a plurality of control
surfaces 113 (only one labeled in FIG. 1) is disposed aft of
battery 109. A case 115 of projectile 101, as well as possibly
other structure of projectile 101, is disposed aft of actuation
system 111. Case 115, actuation system 111, battery 109, and
bulkhead 107 are configured such that, upon impact with a target,
loads from case 114, actuation system 111, battery 109, and
bulkhead 107 are transferred to penetrator structure 103.
Preferably, such loads are also transferred to nose 105 of
projectile 101.
[0018] In other words, upon impact with a target, case 115, as well
as other structure of projectile 101 disposed aft of actuation
system 111, exerts pressure on actuation system 111. Moreover,
actuation system 111 exerts pressure on battery 109 and battery 109
exerts pressure on bulkhead 107. Note that, if bulkheads, such as
bulkhead 107 exist between other components, pressure is exerted
via the bulkheads. For example, if a bulkhead, such as bulkhead
107, exists between actuation system 111 and battery 109, actuation
system 111 exerts pressure on battery via the bulkhead. Bulkhead
107 exerts pressure on penetrator structure 103, and preferably on
nose 105, to penetrate the target by deformation.
[0019] Once the target has been penetrated, an incendiary material
is injected into the target. In the illustrated embodiment, an
incendiary material 117 is disposed near penetrator structure 103,
such as within a body of projectile 101 about penetrator structure
103 or within a body of projectile 101 and disposed in bulkhead
holes. As penetrator structure 103 progresses into the target,
incendiary material 117 self-ignites and is injected into the
target to explode combustible or explosive material disposed within
the target. Examples of incendiary material 117 include, but are
not limited to, one or more of white phosphorous; mischmetal; an
explosive material, such as a
cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine-based substance (i.e., an
HMX-based substance), a cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine-based
substance (i.e., an RDX-based substance), a pentaerythritol
tetranitrate-based substance (i.e., a PETN-based substance), and
the like; and a binary mix of fuel and oxidizer, such as thermite
and materials containing reactive metals, such as lithium, sodium,
potassium, magnesium, calcium, barium, cesium, and the like.
[0020] Thus, in one particular embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, a
method of penetrating and exploding a target comprises one of
broaching and puncturing an outer skin of the target (block 201),
self igniting an incendiary material (block 203), injecting the
incendiary material into the target (block 205), and igniting a
material disposed within the target (block 207). In one embodiment,
depicted in FIG. 3, one of broaching and puncturing the outer skin
of the target is accomplished at least in part by transferring a
load from a component of a projectile to a penetrator structure
upon impact of the projectile and the target (block 301). In
another embodiment, depicted in FIG. 4, one of broaching and
puncturing the outer skin of the target is accomplished by urging a
penetrator structure through the outer skin of the target by
non-hydrodynamic means.
[0021] The present invention provides significant advantages,
including: (1) providing a means for penetrating and exploding a
target without the use of sophisticated fuzing techniques and (2)
providing a means for penetrating and exploding a target without
subjecting the projectile to high accelerations, which may impair
sensors and/or other devices of the projectile.
[0022] The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative
only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different
but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having
the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations
are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown,
other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore
evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be
altered or modified and all such variations are considered within
the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the protection
sought herein is as set forth in the claims below. It is apparent
that an invention with significant advantages has been described
and illustrated. Although the present invention is shown in a
limited number of forms, it is not limited to just these forms, but
is amenable to various changes and modifications without departing
from the spirit thereof.
* * * * *