Abstract:
To address the critical requirement for energy release control under high-pressure conditions in gun bores, and to resolve the conflict between high loading density and combustion progressivity, a novel end-capped tubular combined charge structure containing spherical propellants based on the "capsule" structure concept is proposed. This design utilizes the tubular shell and end-capped discs to form a slow-burning "capsule shell", with high specific surface area discrete spherical propellants filled inside acting as fast-burning "capsule agents". Through physical isolation and geometric burn-through of the outer shell, a high-progressivity combustion mode characterized by "slow burning followed by fast burning" is established. A theoretical combustion model incorporating the form function and gas generation intensity (
Γ) is developed to quantitatively analyze the influence of component geometric parameters on combustion performance. Calculation results indicate that the combined charge exhibits typical "step-wise" double-peak characteristics during the combustion process. The burning thickness ratio of the end-capped disc to the tubular shell (
rp-k) is critical for regulating the phase of high-pressure gas intervention into the internal combustion, thereby determining the onset timing of the
Γ surge. The burning thickness ratio of the spherical propellant to the tubular shell (
rq-k) directly governs the magnitude of combustion progressivity. When
rq-k<0.5, the spherical propellants with high specific surface area burn out before the tubular shell within the high-pressure field, triggering a drastic surge in
Γ; moreover, a smaller
rq-k corresponds to a larger initial burning surface area, leading to a more significant gain in the
Γ peak. Conversely, when
rq-k>0.5, the tubular shell burns out before the spherical propellants, resulting in a step-wise drop in intensity at the late stage of combustion (
Ψ>0.95). Furthermore, an increase in loading density further amplifies this surface area augmentation effect induced by geometric phase transition. Theoretically, this combined charge with "capsule" characteristics possesses high combustion progressivity, offering a novel approach for the development of combined gun charges.