Hypervelocity projectile

Abstract

1. A spherical hypervelocity projectile which comprises a solid spherical central core of high strength metal, a fiberglass filament winding wound about said central core, and a plastic, high-sound-speed material secured about said filament winding.

Government Interests

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

Description

The present invention is directed to projectiles and more particularly to projectiles capable of making deep penetrations when impacted against objects traveling at hypervelocities.

Heretofore, objects used for penetrating the surface of airships, etc., included solid materials such as rods, shaped explosive charges, spheres, fragments, bullets such as armor piercing projectiles, etc. These objects have their drawbacks. Armor piercing projectiles are directional and must strike the surface at a specific angle. Objects such as fragments, spheres, cubes, etc., break up into tiny particles as a result of hypervelocity impact. For purposes of this invention, hypervelocity is defined as the velocity at which a projectile shatters upon impact with the target surface. Such impacts produce hemispherical craters on the surface of the impact object with a depth to diameter ratio for impacts under these conditions of about one-half which represents wide shallow craters on the surface. Armor piercing projectiles, shaped charges, rods, etc., require orientation or direction in order to be effective upon impact. Under certain circumstances there is a requirement wherein orientation or direction is not possible, which decreases the effectiveness of the last mentioned type.

The present invention is directed to a high strength, composite hypervelocity projectile which is effective as a kill mechanism against objects traveling at a hypervelocity, such as ICBM, IRBM, satellites, space ships, etc.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a projectile capable of deep penetrations when impacted against objects traveling at hypervelocities.

Another object is to provide a projectile effective against objects traveling at hypervelocities without a requirement of orientation or direction of the projectile.

While another object is to provide a projectile which is easy to fabricate to any desired size.

Still another object is to provide a projectile suitable for hypervelocity kills without the projectile breaking into many tiny particles upon impact.

Yet another object is to provide a projectile which will have maximum penetration upon impact with a body traveling at a hypervelocity.

Other and more specific objects of the invention will become apparent upon a careful consideration of the following detailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a composite type projectile of this invention; and

FIGS. 2 and 3 are modifications of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing there is illustrated, by example, in FIG. 1, a cross-sectional view of a projectile made according to the present invention. The projectile, as shown, comprises a central core 11 of high strength and high density material coated with a low acoustical impedance material 12, such as a filament-wound impregnated phenolic fiberglass cord and with an outside shell 13 of high impedance and high modulus of elasticity material such as an outer shell of copper or tungsten carbide, however, the outer shell may be made of other materials, such as plastic.

FIG. 2 illustrates a modification of FIG. 1 which illustrates a projectile which has a core surrounded by a coating 14 of plastic with fiberglass mixed in the plastic. This forms a composite coating on the core.

FIG. 3 illustrates a modification of FIG. 1 in which the core is made of an explosive mixture 15 which will explode under favorable conditions after impact and with the same low acoustical impedance material 12 about the core and with a plastic coating as the outer shell.

In operational use, the projectiles may be fired in the path of an object or distributed in a large pattern in the path of enemy space ships or other type objects without any specific orientation of the projectile. Since the projectiles are spherical it does not matter from which direction the projectile strikes the object. When dealing with very high velocity objects, the effect on the object will be the same whether the object runs into the projectile or whether the projectile has a direct hit on the object.

When a projectile strikes an object or an object has an impact with the projectile, there occurs an elastic or diaphragmatic dishing of the surface of the object, which distributes the resistance over a considerable area and causes the stress of impact to react upon the projectile which tends to stop the projectile in a very short distance. Usually when projectiles of the prior art type strike an object traveling at a high velocity, the impact breaks the projectile into many particles such that the degree of penetration into the object is considerably reduced. It is well known that standard armor-piercing projectiles will withstand shocks of impact, however, these projectiles are directional and require a specific orientation with respect to the object.

The projectiles of the present invention do not require a special orientation and yet are capable of penetrating surfaces of high velocity objects. When the projectile of the present invention has an impact with a high velocity object, the energy of the impact is transmitted to the center sphere through the outer shell and the low acoustical impedance material about the core. The covering absorbs, reflects, and dissipates a substantial portion of the shocks that are generated upon impact and produces an elastic or diaphragmatic dishing of the surface of the object. The high strength wrapping of fiberglass cord or other materials surrounding the center core is resistant to both the effects of the shock and break-up while the plastic covering causes dishing of the surface. The energy on impact required for the elastic dishing is concentrated at the point of impact and therefore partially absorbed by the plastic covering. After impact, the metal core or sphere is slowed down because of energy dissipation and achieves a slower velocity, which should permit the projectile to penetrate the surface of the object without breaking up into small particles.

The modification illustrated by FIG. 2 combines the fiberglass with the plastic to provide a single covering. In this modification the covering would require greater energy to break up on impact and will have a slightly different effect on the velocity of the sphere as it continues to make an impact with the surface of the object struck.

The modification as illustrated by FIG. 3 makes use of an explosive material as the center or core which may be capable of reflecting and dissipating the shock energy during impact. The shock energy during impact being absorbed by the plastic covering and the fiberglass cord which surrounds the explosive core. Such a structure permits the explosive charge to penetrate the surface hit sufficiently to produce the greatest damage upon exploding.

The projectiles of the present invention have the advantages of having no limit in size of fabrication; do not require special orientation upon impact, therefore the ratio of projectile weight to total warhead weight is larger than warheads which require projectile orientation; projectiles are easily fabricated and produce deep penetration of an object when hit by the projectile or when the projectile is hit by objects traveling at hypervelocities.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A spherical hypervelocity projectile which comprises a solid spherical central core of high strength metal, a fiberglass filament winding wound about said central core, and a plastic, high-sound-speed material secured about said filament winding.

2. A spherical hypervelocity projectile which comprises a solid spherical central core of high strength metal, a fiberglass filament winding wound about said central core, and a metal, high-sound-speed material secured about said filament winding.