PENETRATOR, USE OF A PENETRATOR, AND PROJECTILE

Abstract

A penetrator for a projectile with a tail assembly, wherein the penetrator includes at least one outer body that acts in a terminal ballistic manner for attacking an armored target, in particular a battle tank with reactive armor. The cross-section of the outer body perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the outer body is a hollow cross-section. The hollow cross-section of the outer body has an area, and an area moment of inertia of the hollow cross-section is increased in comparison with a solid cross-section of at least equal area, so that the outer body has an increased bending stiffness on account of the increased area moment of inertia.

Claims

1. A penetrator for a projectile with a tail assembly, the penetrator comprising: at least one outer body that acts in a terminal ballistic manner for attacking an armored target; and a hollow cross-section formed in the cross-section of the outer body perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the outer body.

2. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the hollow cross-section of the outer body has an area, and an area moment of inertia of the hollow cross-section is increased in comparison with a solid cross-section of equal and/or greater area, so that the outer body has an increased bending stiffness on account of the increased area moment of inertia.

3. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the outer body is an area moment of inertia of more than 20,000 mm.sup.4, more than 40,000 mm.sup.4, more than 60,000 mm.sup.4, or more than 80,000 mm.sup.4, and the modulus of elasticity is greater than 300,000 N/mm.sup.2.

4. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the hollow cross-section extends over at least 70% of the length of the outer body.

5. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the penetrator has, arranged in the outer body, a core that acts in a terminal ballistic manner, wherein the core has a lower density than the outer body.

6. The penetrator according to claim 5, wherein the mass of the penetrator is below 7 kg, or less than 6 kg, and wherein the mass of the penetrator is adjusted through the mass of the core.

7. The penetrator according to claim 5, wherein a position of a center of gravity of the penetrator in relation to its longitudinal axis is adjusted through the mass and the position of the core within the outer body.

8. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the bending stiffness of the outer body is increased by at least 25%, 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90%.

9. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the hollow cross-section of the outer body is annular, trapezoidal, or polygonal.

10. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the core is made from a high-strength material, in particular a tungsten heavy sintered metal material or a high-strength steel.

11. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the outer body and the core are made such that have no fragmentation effect or only a negligible fragmentation effect upon impact with a target.

12. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the core has a modulus of elasticity of more than 70,000 N/mm.sup.2, more than 170,000 N/mm.sup.2, more than 200,000 N/mm.sup.2, or more than 300,000 N/mm.sup.2.

13. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the core has an effect that makes the outer body more resistant to bending.

14. The penetrator according to claim 1, wherein the armored target has reactive armor, and wherein the armored target is a battle tank with reactive armor.

15. A projectile comprising a sabot and a tail assembly, wherein the projectile includes a penetrator according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

[0046] FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional representation of a production penetrator according to the prior art;

[0047] FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional representation of the production penetrator according to FIG. 1 along the line I-I;

[0048] FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional representation of an outer body of a penetrator according to the invention in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment;

[0049] FIG. 4 shows a schematic sectional representation of the hollow cross-section of the outer body according to FIG. 3 along the line II-II;

[0050] FIG. 5 shows a schematic sectional representation of an outer body and a core of a penetrator according to the invention in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment; and

[0051] FIG. 6 shows a schematic sectional representation of the penetrator according to FIG. 5 along the line III-III.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional representation of a production penetrator, which is to say of a penetrator 10, according to the prior art. The penetrator 10 is solid in design.

[0053] FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional representation of the penetrator 10 according to FIG. 1 along the line I-I. As is evident from the sectional representation, the penetrator 10 has no cavities, but instead is designed as one solid piece.

[0054] FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional representation of an outer body 13 of a penetrator 10 according to the invention in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment.

[0055] The penetrator 10 is designed for a projectile 1 with a tail assembly 3. Such a projectile 1 is shown in FIG. 3. The penetrator 10 has at least one outer body 11 that acts in a terminal ballistic manner for attacking an armored target, in particular a tank with reactive armor.

[0056] The cross-section of the outer body 11 perpendicular to a longitudinal axis L of the outer body 11 is a hollow cross-section.

[0057] This cross-section of the outer body 11 is shown along the line II-II in FIG. 4.

[0058] The hollow cross-section of the outer body 11 has an area A, and an area moment of inertia of the hollow cross-section is increased in comparison with a solid cross-section of at least equal area. The outer body 11 therefore has an increased bending stiffness on account of the increased area moment of inertia.

[0059] According to FIG. 4, the hollow cross-section of the outer body 11 is annular in design. However, a trapezoidal or a polygonal hollow cross-section is also possible.

[0060] The bending stiffness of the outer body of the penetrator according to the invention depends essentially on two parameters, namely the area moment of inertia and the modulus of elasticity.

[0061] For this purpose, the outer body 11 of the penetrator 1 has an area moment of inertia of more than 20,000 mm.sup.4, preferably more than 40,000 mm.sup.4, further preferably more than 60,000 mm.sup.4, in particular more than 80,000 mm.sup.4, and the modulus of elasticity is greater than 300,000 N/mm.sup.2.

[0062] A tungsten heavy metal preferably is used as the material for the outer body 11 of the penetrator 1.

[0063] Preferably, the hollow cross-section extends over at least 70% of the length of the outer body 11 of the penetrator 1. According to FIG. 4, the hollow cross-section is arranged over the entire cylindrical—or nearly cylindrical—region of the outer body 11.

[0064] FIG. 5 shows a schematic sectional representation of an outer body 11 and a core 13 of a penetrator 1 according to the invention in accordance with a second embodiment. The second embodiment is based on the first embodiment and differs therefrom in that a core 13 is arranged in the outer body 11 of the penetrator 1. FIG. 6 shows a schematic sectional representation of the penetrator 1 according to FIG. 5 along the line III-III.

[0065] The penetrator 10 has, arranged in the outer body 11, a core 13 that acts in a terminal ballistic manner. The core 13 has an effect that makes the outer body 11 more resistant to bending.

[0066] In order for both the outer body 11 and the core to act together in a terminal ballistic manner, they are joined to one another in an interlocking and/or frictional and/or integral manner.

[0067] The core 13 is made, for example, from a high-strength material, in particular a tungsten heavy metal sintered material or a high-strength steel.

[0068] The density of the outer body 11 is higher than the density of the core 13. The ratio of the density of the outer body 11 to the density of the core 13 preferably is less than 2.7.

[0069] The core 13 has a lower density than the outer body 11.

[0070] In addition, the core 13 has a modulus of elasticity of more than 70,000 N/mm.sup.2, preferably of more than 170,000 N/mm.sup.2, preferably of more than 200,000 N/mm.sup.2, in particular of more than 300,000 N/mm.sup.2.

[0071] According to FIG. 5, the core 13 extends over only a part of the length of the cavity 12 within the outer body 11. Position of the center of gravity of the penetrator 10 in relation its longitudinal axis L can be adjusted by positioning the core 13 within the outer body 11. This occurs owing to the position of the core 13 within the outer body 11 on the one hand, and owing to its mass on the other hand.

[0072] However, it is also possible that the core 13 fills the entire cavity 12 of the outer body 11.

[0073] The mass of the penetrator 10 is below 7 kg, preferably less than 6 kg. The mass of a penetrator 10 can be adjusted through the mass of the core 13, without the need to adapt the outer body 11.

[0074] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.