"Smart gun" for artillery muzzle velocity control: simulations and experimental proof of principle

The "smart gun" is a concept designed to control the muzzle velocity, and hence reduce the dispersion, of projectiles fired from artillery guns by using electrothermal energy. Simulations have been undertaken to assess the potential of the "smart gun" concept. This paper describes experiments conducted in a 30 mm smooth bore ETC gun designed to validate some of these simulations. The ETC gun employed a breech mounted capillary plasma generator. A sequence of electrical pulses were delivered to the plasma generator. The first pulse ignited the propelling charge. A relatively long pulse (the sustain pulse) was then discharged to maintain current flow within the plasma capillary for an extended period of time. At varying times after the ignition pulse, a "boost" or "smart gun" pulse was discharged. The shorter the time interval between the ignition and "smart gun" pulses the more effectively energy is transferred to the projectile and the greater the increase in the projectile's velocity. The results are shown along with a comparison of the simulations. The efficiency with which the electrical energy in the "smart gun" pulse was transferred to the projectile was calculated for each delay employed.