G-HARDENING of COMMERCIAL OFF the SHELF COMPONENTS for SMALL GUIDED PROJECTILES by JAKE DECOTO B.S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Washington, 2006
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G-HARDENING OF COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF COMPONENTS FOR SMALL GUIDED PROJECTILES by JAKE DECOTO B.S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Washington, 2006 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences 2011 ii This thesis entitled: G-Hardening of Commercial off the Shelf Components for Small Guided Projectiles written by Jake Decoto has been approved for the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences Prof. George Born Prof. Robert Culp Prof. Robert Leben Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. iii Decoto, J. J. (M.S., Aerospace Engineering Sciences) G-Hardening of Commercial off the Shelf Components for Small Guided Projectiles Thesis directed by Prof. George Born There is an increasing need for g-hardened electronic and electro-mechanical components to satisfy the needs of a growing array of guided projectile programs. Techniques such as encapsulation, underfilling and load path management have been used by the Army Research Labs to develop survivable components for artillery rounds that are subjected to up to 30,000 g’s (1). However, g-hardening of the components necessary to enable the next generation of small caliber guided projectiles that could experience loads in the vicinity of 65,000 g’s is a problem that is only starting to be addressed. This research aims to identify affordable Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components of interest to small caliber guided projectiles, and through experiment develop load path management techniques to allow their survivability in environments previously not possible. iv Acknowledgements The author would like to acknowledge Dr. George Born , Dr. Robert Culp, and Dr. Robert Leben for their open minds and for the time they gave in order to help a student they previously barely knew pursue his academic interests. The author would also like to acknowledge Allison Curtin for her support throughout the project and her instrumental help as a quality control engineer, cardboard cutter, ballistics test technician, projectile finder, killer of mosquitoes, and crucial second set of eyes. v CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... i 1.1 Motivation .................................................................................................................. i 1.1 Scope and Outline ..................................................................................................... 3 2 Background ...................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Literature Survey of Selected Past Efforts in G-Hardening...................................... 6 2.1.1 HSTSS Program ................................................................................................. 7 2.1.2 WASP Experimental Gun Launched UAV ......................................................... 8 2.1.3 SADARM Projectile ........................................................................................... 8 2.1.4 XM982 Excalibur Projectile .............................................................................. 9 2.1.5 M712 Copperhead Projectile ........................................................................... 10 2.2 Other Extreme Acceleration Environments ............................................................ 10 2.3 Methods of G-Hardening Components ................................................................... 10 3 Experimental Setup ........................................................................................................ 13 3.1 Experimental Setup Outline .................................................................................... 13 3.2 Test Plan.................................................................................................................. 15 3.3 Test Apparatus Detailed Descriptions .................................................................... 17 3.3.1 Soft Capture Device ......................................................................................... 17 3.3.2 Cargo Rounds .................................................................................................. 18 3.3.3 Test Component Selection ................................................................................ 20 3.3.4 Launcher .......................................................................................................... 23 3.3.5 Ballistic Chronograph ..................................................................................... 26 3.3.6 Component Physical and Electrical Characterization Setup .......................... 27 3.4 Component Mounting for Survivability.................................................................. 28 3.4.1 Mounting Method A: Rubber Well Nut ............................................................ 28 3.4.2 Mounting Method B: Wax Encapsulant ........................................................... 30 3.4.3 Mounting Method C: Compression Mount ...................................................... 31 4 Results and Analysis ...................................................................................................... 32 4.1 Tests ........................................................................................................................ 32 4.1.1 Experimental Setup Validation Tests #1 through #3 ....................................... 34 4.1.2 Component Test Iteration #1 ........................................................................... 36 4.1.3 Component Test Iteration #2 ........................................................................... 36 4.1.4 Component Test Iteration #3 ........................................................................... 37 4.2 Projectile Characterization ...................................................................................... 38 4.3 Achieved G-Loading ............................................................................................... 42 4.4 Projectile Stability ................................................................................................... 48 4.5 Pre-Launch Motor Characterization ....................................................................... 50 4.6 Component Post Launch Results and Analysis ...................................................... 52 4.6.1 Post Launch Operating Motors ....................................................................... 55 vi 4.6.2 Mounting Method A ......................................................................................... 55 4.6.3 Mounting Method B ......................................................................................... 61 4.6.4 Mounting Method C ......................................................................................... 66 4.6.5 Ultra High-G Deceleration .............................................................................. 68 4.6.6 Low-G Launches .............................................................................................. 69 4.7 Loads Analysis ........................................................................................................ 71 4.8 Specific Example Applications ............................................................................... 76 5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 78 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 80 Appendix A: Component Test #3 Yaw Card Results ....................................................... 83 Appendix B: Physical and Cost Information for Motors Prior to Modification ............... 87 Appendix C: Post-Modification, Pre-Launch Measurements of Motors .......................... 90 Appendix D: Ancillary Experiments ................................................................................ 91 vii Tables Table Table 1: Launch matrix for all tests .................................................................................. 33 Table 2: Launch measurements for all tests ..................................................................... 34 Table 3: Length and mass of empty cargo rounds ............................................................ 39 Table 4: Deceleration distance, launch mass, and projectile energy and momentum ...... 40 Table 5: Peak vs. average in barrel accelerations for several different rounds [5] [20] ... 44 Table 6: Measured muzzle velocity and calculated average and peak accelerations using 1.2 correction factor .......................................................................................................... 47 Table 7: Summary of projectile stability for launches with recorded yaw card results .... 50 Table 8: Selected variables for launches resulting in recovered motors ........................... 53 Table 9: Post launch results for launches with recovered motors ..................................... 54 Table 10: Post launch measurements for motors with significant visible damage .......... 54 Table 11: Variables for launches with partial of fully operating recovered motors ......... 55 Table