RU2137089C1 - Method for reclamation of ammunition - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: reclamation of weapons for extraction of explosive materials from the bodies of shells, mines. SUBSTANCE: solid explosive charge is crushed under the action of shock wave that is produced by detonation of fuel gas mixture enveloping the ammunition. Fuel gas mixture is obtained by mixing of fuel component and component-oxidizer. EFFECT: expanded capabilities of the method of reclamation of ammunition, enhanced capacity and reduced cost. 5 cl, 5 dwg, 1 tbl, 1 ex

Description

 The invention relates to the field of disposal of weapons and is intended to extract explosive materials from the shells of artillery shells, mines, bombs and other ammunition for the purpose of their processing and use in the national economy. The invention can also be applied to the demilitarization of solid propellant rocket engines, cumulative perforators, downhole torpedoes and the like explosive devices operating on solid explosives.

 Currently, various technical solutions for the disposal of ammunition are known.

 So, a demilitarization method is known, based on the smelting of an explosive charge due to induction heating of the ammunition body [1].

 In [2], a method is described for smelting a charge by exposing it to heated aqueous saline solutions.

 In accordance with the method [3], the extraction is carried out by dissolving the charge when exposed to a trotyl solvent.

 However, all these methods are intended for the disposal of ammunition equipped only with injection explosive compositions, the main component of which is TNT, while in the ammunition non-fusible explosives are also used, for the extraction of which these methods are not applicable.

 Unloading ammunition containing both fusible and non-fusible explosives provides a method based on the separation of the munition shell by a high-pressure liquid stream while simultaneously or subsequently exposing the explosive to a liquid stream of reduced pressure [4]. At the same time, the explosive is crushed and washed out of the ammunition chamber, followed by trapping.

 This technical solution is quite universal, but for its implementation it requires the use of unique and extremely expensive equipment based on the use of high-pressure liquid pumps and high-pressure hydro-jet equipment. In addition, such equipment is short-lived and practically unacceptable for the mass disposal of ammunition.

 More affordable in the implementation and providing the extraction of both fusible and non-fusible explosive materials is the technical solution described in [5] and adopted as a prototype. Disposal according to this technical solution consists in opening the ammunition chamber, crushing the explosive with a cutting tool and extracting the crushed material by supplying compressed air to the chamber. In the crushing process, the pressure of the cutting tool is controlled by preloading it in axial and radial directions.

 However, although this method of disposal does not involve the use of scarce and expensive equipment and hard-to-reach materials, it has serious drawbacks in terms of limited operational capabilities. To implement the method requires a rather bulky device with complex kinematic relationships, requiring constant adjustment, preventive and repair work. The method is applicable practically only in stationary (workshop) conditions, is characterized by a relatively low productivity and high cost of work.

 Thus, the claimed invention is aimed at solving the problem of expanding the operational capabilities of the method of disposal of ammunition, increasing productivity and reducing the cost of work. The technical result is expressed in the fact that the impact on the ammunition is carried out over its entire outer surface, as a result of which inside the explosive charge there is interference of shock waves and rarefaction waves moving in different directions, which increases the efficiency of charge fragmentation.

 This is achieved due to the fact that in the method of disposing of ammunition equipped with a solid explosive charge, including opening the ammunition chamber, crushing the explosive charge and extracting the fragmented mass, according to the invention, the crushing is carried out by repeated exposure to a shock wave generated when an initiating detonation pulse is generated surrounding the ammunition combustible gas mixture obtained by mixing in the surrounding ammunition space of the combustible component and the oxidizing component, while the components are fed into the surrounding ammunition space sequentially, and the initiating pulse is generated after the supply of the component of the mixture supplied by the first is completed and is carried out repeatedly during the supply time of the component supplied by the second.

 The detonation of a combustible gas mixture is excited either at its lower explosive concentration limit, or when the required initial pressure is reached, and either the combustible component or the oxidizing component is fed into the surrounding ammunition first, depending on the particular mode of shock-wave action on the ammunition.

 A comparative analysis of the claimed invention and the prototype revealed a new set of essential features, due to a change in both the methods of the disposal of ammunition and the design used to implement the method of the device. Thus, the claimed object meets the criterion of "NOVELTY."

 The essence of the solution is illustrated by the figures.

 In FIG. 1 shows a device for implementing the method with the installed ammunition.

 In FIG. 2 - evacuation of the explosive chamber and the beginning of the supply of the first component of the combustible gas mixture.

 In FIG. 3 - completion of the supply of the first component, the beginning of the supply of the second component and the beginning of the generation of the initiating pulse in repeated mode.

 In FIG. 4 - continued supply of the second component of the mixture, initiation of detonation, the effect of the shock wave on the ammunition, partial fragmentation of the explosive charge and the rash of crushed mass in the receiving section.

 In FIG. 5 - continued supply of the second component of the mixture, initiation of the second act of detonation, repeated exposure of the shock wave to the ammunition, further fragmentation of the explosive charge and its precipitation into the receiving section.

 The device (Fig. 1) for the disposal of ammunition according to the claimed method consists of a base plate 1 with a through hole 2, an attachment unit for the ammunition 3, including a thrust ring 4, a sealing element 5 and a clamping element 6, an explosive chamber 7, jointed through a gasket 8 hermetically with a base plate 1 and equipped with pipe fittings for supplying components of a combustible gas mixture, including a gas valve 9 for supplying an oxidizing gas, a gas valve 10 for supplying a combustible gas and a control gas manometer 11, an element 12 initiated Detonation Ia, sensor 13 initiating engagement element valve 14 of vacuum chamber 15 and the gas venting valve explosion products, and the receiving portion 16 with a capacitance of recoverable 17.

 The sealing element 5 of the ammunition attachment node, along with the gasket 8 in the base plate 1, serves to ensure hermetic isolation of the internal volume of the chamber from the environment, as well as to prevent the penetration of combustible gas mixture into the opened charging chamber of the ammunition. The material of element 5 can be conventional or vacuum rubber, vacuum putty, or highly viscous grease.

 VK-86 gas valves can be used as gas valves 9 and 10 for supplying components of a combustible gas mixture, a vacuum valve 14, and a valve 15 for venting explosion products. As an element for initiating detonation 12, a high-voltage automobile spark plug A17DV, F20D-1, etc. As a control pressure gauge 11, a gas pressure gauge MVShO-20. The sensor 13 for activating the triggering element can be any suitable membrane type sensor.

 The method is carried out as follows.

 Ammunition with an opened charging chamber is installed on the base plate 1 in the thrust ring 4 vertically, opened side down (Fig. 1). Using the clamp element 6, the ammunition is fixed. An explosive chamber 7 is mounted on the base plate 1 and articulated with the plate using bolts, hydraulic clamps, etc. (not shown in the figure). The element 5 and the gasket 8 provide a tight seal of the internal volume of the chamber from the environment.

 Through the evacuation valve 14 pump air from the cavity of the explosive chamber 7 (Fig. 2). Through the gas valve 9 fill the chamber under the required pressure with the first component of the combustible gas mixture, for example, oxygen. The required pressure is set by means of an external gas pressure reducer (not shown in the figure) and controlled by a gas pressure gauge 11. The chamber can be filled with the first component of the mixture without first pumping air out of it. In this case, either a preliminary purging of the chamber with the first component with an open bleed valve 15 can be carried out, or the first component of the mixture can be supplied directly to the air in the chamber. The latter option is preferable when a large mass of the first component (oxygen) is pumped, and the mass of the air in the chamber containing, in addition, ≈ 20% oxygen can be neglected.

 A detonation initiating element 12 from an external high-voltage pulse generator (not shown in the figure) is supplied with a high voltage in a multiple pulse mode (Fig. 3). In the cavity of the explosive chamber 7 between the electrodes of the initiation element 12, high-voltage electric discharges periodically occur. (In addition to a high-voltage discharge, an initiating pulse can be generated in another way, for example, by thermal action, a laser beam, a glow discharge, etc., which is not important in this case.) High-voltage discharges begin to generate on element 12 immediately after filling chamber 7 with the first component mixtures - at the moment of starting the supply of the second component. (This is necessary to ensure the ensuing subsequent gas detonation at the lower concentration limit of the second component in the first. If you start to generate discharges later, the combustible mixture at the time of initiation may be over-enriched, which will lead to an unnecessarily strong explosion and unacceptably high impact on structural elements devices.) Through the gas valve 10 into the cavity of the chamber 7 serves the second component of the mixture, for example, hydrogen. Mixing of the components of the mixture occurs with the formation of an explosive composition.

 Upon reaching the lower explosive concentration limit, the mixture undergoes an explosive transformation under the action of a high-voltage discharge (Fig. 4). The shock wave through the shell of the munition affects the explosive charge and produces its partial crushing. The crushed mass through the hole 2 in the base plate 1 is poured into the tank 17 of the receiving section 16.

 Continue feeding into the cavity of the chamber 7 of the second component of the mixture (Fig. 5). Upon reaching the lower explosive limit in terms of the concentration of the second component in the first (in our case, fuel in the oxidizing agent) mixture again explodes. The shock wave acts on the explosive charge and produces its further crushing. The newly crushed explosive through the hole 2 in the base plate 1 is poured into the container 17 of the receiving section 16.

 And so, with the continuously operating initiation element 12, the supply of the second component of the mixture is continued until the first component located in the cavity of the explosive chamber 7 is completely consumed. In this case, the ammunition experiences a series of short and relatively weak, but sufficient for effective fragmentation of the explosive charge pulsed actions. There is a complete fragmentation of the explosive charge and the rash of all the crushed mass in the receiving section. The impact on the ammunition with each explosion of the mixture is carried out over its entire outer surface. As a result, interference of the shock waves and rarefaction waves moving in different directions occurs inside the explosive charge. The crushing efficiency is further increased.

 Turn off the high-voltage pulse generator. Open the gas valve 15 and pit the explosion products from the blast chamber 7. The container 17 is removed and the fragmented explosive is removed. The explosive chamber 7 is disconnected from the base plate 1 and the empty ammunition casing is released from the attachment point.

 Here, a sequence of operations is described when the first component of the mixture is an oxidizing agent (in this case, oxygen) and the supply of a combustible component is carried out in an oxidizing medium. In principle, another embodiment of this method is equivalent, when the first component is a fuel, for example, hydrogen, and an oxidizing gas is supplied to the combustible gas medium. In fact, the difference between the two options is only that in the first case, a series of explosions begins with an explosion of a lean mixture, and in the second, with an explosion of a highly enriched mixture. (Although in the second case the mixture is highly enriched, its explosion will also be relatively weak, since the oxidizing agent present in the mixture is capable of providing the chemical reaction of only a small part of the combustible component contained in the explosion chamber). The speed of the shock wave and the pressure in its front are, of course, different. Depending on the specific characteristics of the ammunition being disposed of: the material and thickness of the case, the composition and strength of the explosive charge, etc., one or another sequence of gas supply to the explosive chamber can be carried out: first an oxidizer, then fuel, or first fuel, and then oxidizer. It is better to dispose of ammunition with a relatively thin body and relatively low explosive charge by exploding a lean mixture, and it is preferable to use a more enriched mixture to dispose of high-strength ammunition.

 The initiation of detonation of a combustible gas mixture can be carried out not only at its lower concentration explosive limit, as described above, but also at a certain predetermined initial pressure. For this, a sensor 13 is used (Fig. 1). When the specified pressure is reached, the sensor is triggered, for example, its contacts are closed, and only after that is the high voltage pulse supplied to the initiation element 12.

It is advisable to use oxygen as an oxidizing agent in the mixture. The fuel gas used can be relatively inexpensive hydrogen (H ₂ ), methane (CH ₄ ), ethylene (C ₂ H ₄ ), propylene (C ₃ H ₆ ), propane (C ₃ H ₈ ), butane (C ₄ H ₁₀ ) and others. The explosive concentration limits of a mixture of these combustible gases with oxygen are given in the table below [6].

 It can be seen that mixtures of these gases with oxygen retain the ability to explosive conversion, being both very depleted (the first column of numbers) and highly enriched (second column of numbers). Ethylene and hydrogen have the widest explosive range. These gases and it is preferable to use when implementing the proposed method, as gases capable of providing the greatest number of explosive cycles in mixture with oxygen without purging the blast chamber or disassembling the device.

 The operation of the device is described above using the example of the disposal of a single munition. In a real device, with one load, the explosive can be extracted simultaneously from several mutually identical or even different munitions. The essence of the proposed solution does not change, the sequence of operations remains the same.

 The implementation of the regime of repeated pulsed exposure can improve the efficiency of the process of crushing the explosive charge, and the subsequent rash of crushed mass from the shell of the munition.

 This disposal method is also relatively safe from the point of view of an ammunition explosion. For crushing an explosive, a pressure of only tens of atmospheres is sufficient, while for excitation of detonation, a pressure in the acting shock wave of tens of thousands of atmospheres is required, i.e. three orders of magnitude larger.

 The claimed technical solution allows to simplify the process of extracting explosives from ammunition, to increase the productivity and autonomy of the method and to widely use it in non-stationary, including polygon conditions.

An example of a specific implementation of the method
A high-explosive mine of 160 mm caliber, equipped with a bursting charge of 80/20 ammotol, was used as a utilized munition.

 After removing the fuse, the mine’s charging chamber was opened, removing the screw head.

 The mine was placed on the base plate hermetically in the mount vertically, open part down, and fixed with the clamp element.

A cylindrical explosive chamber with an internal volume of 0.27 m ^{3 was} mounted on the base plate and hermetically connected to the plate through a rubber gasket using 12 M24 bolts.

 They equipped the chamber with two VK-86 gas valves for supplying components of a combustible gas mixture, a MVShO-20 gas pressure gauge, an A17DV high-voltage spark plug, an exhaust valve and a vent valve for venting the explosion products.

 One of the gas valves supplying the components of the combustible gas mixture using a dyurite hose was connected to a compressed oxygen cylinder, and the other to a compressed hydrogen cylinder.

 A 2NVR5D foreline pump was connected to the evacuation valve.

 Air was pumped out of the cavity of the explosive chamber to a residual pressure of 1 ... 10 mm Hg.

 The chamber was filled with oxygen to a pressure of 3 atm.

 A voltage pulse with an amplitude of 6 kV began to be supplied to the A17DV spark plug, connected by a radio-frequency cable RK-75-4-11 with a high-voltage pulse generator, with an interval of 0.3 seconds.

 Through the gas valve supplying the combustible component, the filling of the explosive chamber with hydrogen began. Hydrogen supply pressure - 13 atm.

 There was a mixing of hydrogen with oxygen. In this case, there was both turbulent mixing due to the turbulence of a hydrogen jet in an oxygen medium, and gravitational mixing due to different specific gravities of the mixed gases.

 When the explosive mixture reached the lower explosive limit of the mixture (15.5% hydrogen), its detonation occurred. As a result of the explosive chemical transformation, all of the hydrogen that was in the explosive chamber at that moment was oxidized, and some of the oxygen needed for this oxidation was consumed.

 The shock wave through the mine’s body affected the explosive charge and partially crushed it. The crushed mass through the hole in the base plate poured out of the mine chamber into the extractable capacity of the receiving section.

 Continued the flow of hydrogen into the cavity of the explosive chamber.

 Upon reaching the lower explosive limit, the mixture detonated again from a high-voltage discharge on the spark plug, further crushing the explosive charge and pouring out again the crushed mass into the receiving section.

 And so on - until the complete consumption of oxygen. Mina at the same time experienced a series of short and relatively mild blows. The entire explosive charge was crushed and completely precipitated from the charging chamber.

 Stopped the supply of hydrogen.

 The high-voltage pulse generator was turned off.

The valve for venting the explosion products was opened and the gaseous products of detonation of the mixture were vented from the explosion chamber. The explosion produced non-toxic detonation products, consisting mainly of water vapor H ₂ O, hydroxyl group OH, atomic and molecular oxygen and hydrogen: O, H, O ₂ , H ₂ .

 The container was removed and the fragmented explosive was removed.

 The blasting chamber was disconnected from the base plate and the empty mine shell was removed.

 When using this method, the preparation of an explosive substance (combustible gas mixture), the explosion of which produces an impact shock wave, is carried out directly at the place of its use. The preparation of the mixture itself, as well as the delivery and storage of its components are relatively safe procedures. The shock wave generated during the explosion of gas mixtures is safe from the point of view of exciting detonation of blasting explosives, which are usually equipped with ammunition. In addition, compressed combustible gases, compressed oxygen or air have a relatively low cost of their production and content. All this makes this method more economical and safe and opens up additional opportunities for its wider use.

 Compared with the known technical solutions for a similar purpose, the claimed object does not require hazardous preparatory work, is environmentally friendly, does not involve the use of bulky and expensive equipment and can be used both in stationary and in landfill conditions, which makes it more suitable for high technology.

Literature:
1. Patent of Russia N 2045743, cl. F 42 B 33/00, C 06 V 21/00, publ. 10/10/95 g

 2. Patent of Russia N 2045744, cl. F 42 B 33/00, C 06 V 21/00, publ. 10/10/95 g

 3. Patent of Russia N 2031896, cl. F 42 B 33/00, C 06 V 21/00, publ. 03/27/95

 4. German patent N 4128703, cl. F 42 B 33/06, B 08 V 3/02, publ. 03/04/93

 5. Patent of Russia N 2046284, cl. F 42 B 33/00, 33/06, C 06 V 21/00, publ. 10.20.95, the prototype.

6. K.P. Stanyukovich. Explosion Physics, ed. 2 ^e , M., "Science", 1975

Claims (5)

 1. A method of disposing of ammunition equipped with a solid explosive charge, including opening an ammunition chamber, crushing an explosive charge and extracting a fragmented mass, characterized in that the crushing is carried out by repeated exposure to a shock wave generated by the initiation of a detonation pulse of a combustible gas mixture surrounding the munition mixing in the surrounding ammunition space of the combustible component and the oxidizing component, while the components are fed into the surrounding battle the space is stored sequentially, and the initiating pulse is generated after completion of the supply of the component of the mixture supplied by the first and is carried out in repeated mode during the supply time of the component supplied by the second.  2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the detonation of the combustible gas mixture is excited at its lower explosive concentration limit.  3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the detonation of the combustible gas mixture is excited when it reaches the desired initial pressure.  4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the oxidizing component is first fed into the space surrounding the munition.  5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the fuel component is fed into the surrounding ammunition first.

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