EP1153261A1 - Projectile a munitions friables de petit calibre - Google Patents

Projectile a munitions friables de petit calibre

Info

Publication number
EP1153261A1
EP1153261A1 EP99969928A EP99969928A EP1153261A1 EP 1153261 A1 EP1153261 A1 EP 1153261A1 EP 99969928 A EP99969928 A EP 99969928A EP 99969928 A EP99969928 A EP 99969928A EP 1153261 A1 EP1153261 A1 EP 1153261A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
projectile
powder
core
plate
tungsten
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP99969928A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP1153261A4 (fr
Inventor
Harold F. Beal
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of EP1153261A1 publication Critical patent/EP1153261A1/fr
Publication of EP1153261A4 publication Critical patent/EP1153261A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F42—AMMUNITION; BLASTING
    • F42B—EXPLOSIVE CHARGES, e.g. FOR BLASTING, FIREWORKS, AMMUNITION
    • F42B12/00—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material
    • F42B12/72—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the material
    • F42B12/74—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the material of the core or solid body
    • F42B12/745—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the material of the core or solid body the core being made of plastics; Compounds or blends of plastics and other materials, e.g. fillers

Definitions

  • This invention relates to ammunition, and particularly to a frangible projectile for use in small bore ammunition for weapons having a rifled barrel, especially pistols.
  • Lead, and similar soft metal projectiles tend to leave deposits of the metal within the barrel of a weapon as the projectile is propelled along the barrel during firing of the weapon.
  • These copper jackets are commonly preformed, loaded with a lead core, and thereafter die formed to shape the core and jacket into the desired geometry for the projectile.
  • Frully frangible is defined as being disintegratable, upon impact of the projectile with a semi-solid or solid target, into individual particulates that are of a size on the order of the particle size of that powder in the core that has the largest particle size.
  • the known prior art coatings and/or jackets for solid core projectiles teaches that the coating or jacket should strongly adhere to the core and only fragment in the form of large chunks or pieces which allegedly increase the destructive power imparted to a target upon it being struck by the projectile.
  • the prior art jackets and coatings for cores are not known to disintegrate into relatively minute particulates, hence are less than desirable for use where full frangibility of the projectile is desired or required.
  • the present inventor has developed a projectile that includes a heavy metal powder- based core which is plated with a relatively light (soft) metal and which exhibits unusual performance characteristics when it strikes a target.
  • the projectile of the present invention has been found to penetrate a soft tissue target, leaving the usual channel through the target, but which will disintegrate readily when the projectile strikes a semi-solid or solid object such as cartilage, bone or the like associated with the primary target.
  • the projectile should the projectile fully penetrate the target, upon its first impact with a semi-solid or solid object external of the intended target, it fully disintegrates harmlessly.
  • the disintegration action externally of the intended target fully involves both the core and the plated coating thereon, each of these components being dissipated over very short distances as harmless minute particulates.
  • the core of the present projectile comprises tungsten metal powder mixed with tin metal powder and a fine particle size oxidized polyethylene polymer and cold-compacted into a self- supporting core.
  • This core is thereafter plated with a coating of copper or other like relatively light metal m a plating solution which is free of plating chemicals which can be absorbed by the somewhat porous core and later leach out to discolor the plate. Cyanide is especially to be avoided in the plating solution.
  • the coating of the present invention further is of a thickness which provides the desired lubricity of the projectile as it moves through the weapon barrel and which is not destroyed during flight of the projectile to its target.
  • the coating of the present invention will withstand the very large centrifugal forces associated with the spinning of the projectile at greater than 100,000 rps so as to preclude breakup of the projectile prior to reaching its target, and which will provide penetrating power to the projectile at the target, and further will fully and effectively disintegrate upon striking a semi-solid or solid target .
  • Figure 1 is a representation of one embodiment of a cold- compacted powder-based core blank embodying various of the features of the present invention
  • Figure 2 is a representation of one embodiment of an undersized core formed from a core blank of the kind depicted in Figure 1;
  • Figure 3 is a representation of a core as depicted in
  • Figure 4 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method for the manufacture of the present projectile.
  • the core 18 of the present projectile 14 is metal powder-based, meaning that the core is made up of a mixture that is predominately metal powders.
  • the preferred metal powders are tungsten powder and tin powder.
  • the mixture be tungsten-based, that is, it contains 50% or more, by weight, of tungsten powder, it is acceptable in the manufacture of projectiles intended for special applications that tungsten powder be less than 50% by weight.
  • the second metal powder in the mixture is tin powder.
  • the percentage of tungsten powder may range from about 40% to about 80%, by weight with the remainder of the mixture being tin, except for about 0.10%, by weight, of a fine particle size oxidized polyethylene homopolymer, such as that provided by AlliedSignal, Inc., of Morristown, NJ and known as ACu ist A- 12.
  • This powder is of a -250 +400 mesh. Mixtures of these powders within the stated ranges provide a projectile having a density materially greater than lead, e.g. about 13-14 grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm 3 ) .
  • the preferred tungsten powder exhibits a particle size of about -10 and +70 mesh and is the C and M series available from Osram Sylvania of Morristown, NJ.
  • a tin powder of predominately -325 mesh, and having a substantial portion of -250 +325 mesh particles, such as Grade TC-125 available from Pyron Metal Products, Greenback, TN, may be employed.
  • the core blank 16 is formed by compaction of the mixture of powders at ambient temperature, termed "cold-compaction" herein.
  • the temperature at which compaction is effected may range below or above room temperature, but preferably does not exceed the melting point of tin. Within this range of temperatures, the tin is sufficiently ductile as permits it to be squeezed between the tungsten powder particulates and serve as a binder that holds the tungsten particulates together in a predetermined geometrically shaped core.
  • the core formed in this die-forming operation has a density of about 90% of its theoretical density. This loss of density from the core blank to the die- formed core is indicative of porosity within the core.
  • the core nonetheless, exhibits sufficient self-supporting strength as to permit the core to be mechanically handled in further manufacturing operations, including transport, tumbling in solution, etc.
  • tungsten powder particulates are very hard and very abrasive. Tungsten particulates are difficult to bond into a self-supporting body. As noted, bare tungsten projectiles will very quickly destroy a gun barrel due to abrasion of the bore of the barrel by the projectile which is propelled through the bore of the weapon. These properties of the tungsten powder also cause it to be difficult to die-form. High forming pressures, e.g. 50,000 psi, have been found to be necessary for forming tungsten/tin or tungsten/lead powder particulates into a body that will be sufficiently self-supporting for enduring subsequent manufacturing operations and possess a high density that is uniform throughout the core blank. At these high pressures in a die-forming operation, it becomes very difficult to extract the formed core blank from the die, hence the addition of polyethylene powder into the mixture of metal powders.
  • the core blank 16 is formed into a core 18.
  • This manufacturing operation may take different forms, but in any event, the core blank is die-formed one or more times during which bonds between the powder particles of the core blank are partially disrupted or destroyed. Thereafter, in one embodiment, a minimum reestablishment of the powder particle bonds is sought.
  • the steps in the method are depicted in the flow diagram of Figure 4.
  • the core blank 16 is die-formed into a core 18 (see Figure 2) which is of the desired general shape desired for the final projectile, but which is undersized at least in diameter (caliber) relative to the desired final diametral dimension (caliber) of the projectile being formed.
  • the extent of undersizing of the core is a function of the rifled weapon from which the projectile is intended to be fired. Specifically, the extent of undersizing is substantially directly proportional to the height of the lands within the bore of the weapon barrel.
  • the pressure employed during this die-forming operation is sufficient to disrupt and/or destroy bonds between the powder particles of the core blank such that the core blank is caused to conform to the cavity of the die.
  • Pressure of at least about 48,000 psi, and preferably about 50,000 psi is employed in this die-forming operation.
  • the pressure is sufficient to cause reestablishment of such bonding between the powder particles of the newly formed core as will permit the mechanical handling of the core during further manufacturing operations, e.g., electro or chemical plating of a soft metal plate onto the entire external outer surface of the undersized core.
  • the die-formed undersized core 18 is plated on its exterior surface with a thin layer (i.e. plate) 20 of a relatively soft metal.
  • a thin layer i.e. plate 20 of a relatively soft metal.
  • Copper is a preferred metal for plating onto the core.
  • the copper plating solution employed is free of cyanide inasmuch as the inventor has found that the somewhat porous core retains in its pores a portion of the plating solution, and this solution tends to leach out of the core over time and react with the copper plate to produce unacceptable discoloration of the copper plate.
  • Plating of a soft metal onto a metal core is well known in the art (U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,975, for example).
  • the cores are cleaned and thereafter plated employing a conventional plating method which preferably does not include cyanide in the plating solution.
  • the various plating conditions such as temperature, time, etc. are selected to lay down a layer of soft metal plate that uniformly plates the exterior surfaces of the core with a soft metal plate that is of a thickness which is slightly greater than the height of the land of the rifling of the weapon from which the projectile is intended to be fired.
  • the thickness of the multilayered plate is about 0.004 inch, but may range upward to about 0.025 inch.
  • the plate deteriorates in the course of its movement along the length of the barrel of the weapon, thus exposing the land to the destructive abrasiveness of the high density powder from which the core is fabricated.
  • the core for a 9 mm projectile is initially sized to .3547 inch in outer diameter. A plate of .004 inch thickness is thereafter applied to this core.
  • the plated core is restruck in a still further die.
  • This latter die is internally sized to the precise dimensions desired for the final form and caliber of the projectile.
  • Employing pressures of about 50,000 psi, this restriking of the plated core appears to perform multiple functions. First, it functions to precisely size the projectile, including any needed adjustment to the geometry, especially the outer diameter of the projectile.
  • a result of this resizing is some crushing of the powder-based core, thereby making the core more susceptible to disintegration, i.e., fully frangible, upon it striking a semi-solid or solid target.
  • this sizing operation there is minimum reestablishment of the powder particle bonds so that the core loses a substantial portion of its density, e.g. the density of the core is about 90% or less of the theoretical density of the core.
  • this restriking operation performed upon the plated core also has been noted to integrate the plate with the core itself, thereby likely enhancing the disintegration of the plate upon disintegration of the core.
  • the strong and hard (e.g., tungsten) powder particles adjacent to the outermost core particles appear to be somewhat embedded within the softer metal of the plate such that the disintegrating powder particles adjacent the plate tend to tear away, and carry with them, very small portions of the plate as the powder particles dissipate.
  • Firing tests of the present projectile to a solid target produced little more than a dark spot on the target. No fragments of the plate larger than approximately the same order of size as the individual tungsten powder particles were noted, but rather the plate disintegrated into substantially nonvisually-identifiable particulates. Ricochet of the projectile, or of fragments thereof, is essentially eliminated.
  • one embodiment of the method for the manufacture of a projectile of the present invention includes the steps of selecting a first powder, tungsten powder, for example; selecting a second powder, tin powder, for example; selecting a powdered polyethylene; blending these powders to form a mixture thereof; measuring a quantity of the blended powders into a core blank die; pressing the powders within the core blank die into a solid straight cylindrical core; removing the core blank from its forming die and inserting the core blank into a shaping and sizing die where the core blank is formed into an undersized core of a desired shape; removing the core from its forming die; plating at least one layer of a relatively soft metal onto the outer surfaces of the core; restriking the plated core in a final die whose cavity is dimensioned precisely to the desired final geometry and caliber of the projectile; and recovering the finished projectile.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Toys (AREA)
  • Powder Metallurgy (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un projectile complètement friable, destiné à une arme de petit calibre, et présentant un noyau, réalisé à partir d'un mélange de poudres, et introduit dans une ébauche du noyau, de densité hautement uniforme. L'ébauche du noyau est formée dans une filière, à un calibre inférieur, puis est ensuite pourvue d'une plaque, sur ses surfaces extérieures. Le noyau plaqué passe de nouveau dans une filière, pour l'ajustement de sa friabilité et l'association rapprochée de la plaque avec les particules de poudre présentes sur les surfaces extérieures du noyau, de sorte que la désintégration du noyau engendre la désintégration de la plaque. L'invention décrit un procédé de fabrication dudit projectile.
EP99969928A 1998-12-23 1999-12-23 Projectile a munitions friables de petit calibre Withdrawn EP1153261A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US22008798A 1998-12-23 1998-12-23
US220087 1998-12-23
PCT/US1999/031016 WO2000037878A1 (fr) 1998-12-23 1999-12-23 Projectile a munitions friables de petit calibre

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1153261A1 true EP1153261A1 (fr) 2001-11-14
EP1153261A4 EP1153261A4 (fr) 2003-05-28

Family

ID=22822001

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP99969928A Withdrawn EP1153261A4 (fr) 1998-12-23 1999-12-23 Projectile a munitions friables de petit calibre

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1153261A4 (fr)
CA (1) CA2361502A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2000037878A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7217389B2 (en) * 2001-01-09 2007-05-15 Amick Darryl D Tungsten-containing articles and methods for forming the same
AU2002308472A1 (en) * 2001-04-26 2002-11-11 International Non-Toxic Composites Corp. Composite material containing tungsten, tin and organic additive
WO2003033751A1 (fr) 2001-10-16 2003-04-24 International Non-Toxic Composites Corp. Materiau composite contenant du tungstene et du bronze
US6916354B2 (en) 2001-10-16 2005-07-12 International Non-Toxic Composites Corp. Tungsten/powdered metal/polymer high density non-toxic composites
US6749802B2 (en) 2002-01-30 2004-06-15 Darryl D. Amick Pressing process for tungsten articles
WO2003064961A1 (fr) 2002-01-30 2003-08-07 Amick Darryl D Articles contenant du tungstene et procedes permettant le formage de ces articles
US7059233B2 (en) 2002-10-31 2006-06-13 Amick Darryl D Tungsten-containing articles and methods for forming the same
EP1633897A2 (fr) 2003-04-11 2006-03-15 Darryl Dean Amick Systeme et procede permettant de traiter le ferrotungstene et d'autres alliages a base de tungstene, objets formes a partir desdits alliages, et procedes de detection desdits alliages
US9046328B2 (en) 2011-12-08 2015-06-02 Environ-Metal, Inc. Shot shells with performance-enhancing absorbers
US10260850B2 (en) 2016-03-18 2019-04-16 Environ-Metal, Inc. Frangible firearm projectiles, methods for forming the same, and firearm cartridges containing the same
US10690465B2 (en) 2016-03-18 2020-06-23 Environ-Metal, Inc. Frangible firearm projectiles, methods for forming the same, and firearm cartridges containing the same
US20180156588A1 (en) * 2016-12-07 2018-06-07 Russell LeBlanc Frangible Projectile and Method of Manufacture

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5616642A (en) * 1995-04-14 1997-04-01 West; Harley L. Lead-free frangible ammunition
WO1997027447A1 (fr) * 1996-01-25 1997-07-31 Remington Arms Company, Inc. Projectile desintegrant sans plomb

Family Cites Families (12)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1732211A (en) * 1925-10-12 1929-10-15 Western Cartridge Co Small-caliber rifle bullet and process of making the same
US1992244A (en) * 1927-07-29 1935-02-26 Western Cartridge Co Process of making bullets
US3349711A (en) * 1964-12-07 1967-10-31 Remington Arms Co Inc Process of forming jacketed projectiles
US4387492A (en) * 1980-10-02 1983-06-14 Omark Industries, Inc. Plated jacket soft point bullet
US4428295A (en) * 1982-05-03 1984-01-31 Olin Corporation High density shot
US5079814A (en) * 1990-11-13 1992-01-14 Blount, Inc. Method of manufacturing a hollow point bullet
US5279787A (en) * 1992-04-29 1994-01-18 Oltrogge Victor C High density projectile and method of making same from a mixture of low density and high density metal powders
GB9310915D0 (en) * 1993-05-27 1993-07-14 Royal Ordance Plc Improvements in or relating to projectiles
CA2194487C (fr) * 1994-07-06 2000-06-06 Richard A. Lowden Projectiles sans plomb ne nuisant pas a l'environnement et leur procede de fabrication
US5594186A (en) * 1995-07-12 1997-01-14 Magnetics International, Inc. High density metal components manufactured by powder metallurgy
US5597975A (en) * 1995-10-04 1997-01-28 Mcgean-Rohco, Inc. Mechanical plating of small arms projectiles
ATE346113T1 (de) * 1996-06-28 2006-12-15 Ideas To Market Lp Verbundstoffe hoher dichte

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5616642A (en) * 1995-04-14 1997-04-01 West; Harley L. Lead-free frangible ammunition
WO1997027447A1 (fr) * 1996-01-25 1997-07-31 Remington Arms Company, Inc. Projectile desintegrant sans plomb

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See also references of WO0037878A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2000037878A1 (fr) 2000-06-29
EP1153261A4 (fr) 2003-05-28
CA2361502A1 (fr) 2000-06-29

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