Tube/projectile interaction modeling using finite element simulation

Overview & Synopsis

In artillery, the challenge of loading is to create an efficient shrink fit assembly between the projectile and the gun barrel. The fit is considered optimal if it prevents fallback without creating overconstraints. The assembly mainly lies on the deformations of the driving band, which is a soft-metal ring often made of copper. Most studies on the deformations of the driving band were made during the late twenties [1], [2]. They mostly focused on describing the phenomena occurring after the ignition of charges, to enhance interior ballistics’ knowledge using simulations and recovered shells. Recently, some work focused on describing the loading of a projectile [3], also using simulations and experimentations on tank and artillery projectiles. The objective of our work is to go beyond a system scale description. We want to observe and understand the phenomena at the contact interface and within the band. This work is a double approach where we develop finite element and analytical models of the assembly.