Warhead fragmenting structure of compacted fragments

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10288394-B2
Application number	US-201615205113-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 8, 2016
Priority date	Jul 9, 2015
Publication date	May 14, 2019
Grant date	May 14, 2019

Abstract

A method of making a fragmenting structure for an explosive device includes placing a volume of fragments of a deformable metal material into a press mold, the fragments having sufficient surface adhesiveness to adhere to each other upon being compressed together, e.g., by coating the fragments with adhesive. The fragments are compressed together in the press mold to form the fragmenting structure as a rigid and substantially void-free structure of compression-deformed, mutually adhering metal fragments, the fragmenting structure being sized and shaped for subsequent incorporation into the explosive device. An explosive device includes an explosive charge and a fragmenting structure adjacent to the explosive charge, the fragmenting structure being a rigid and substantially void-free structure of compression-deformed, mutually adhering metal fragments. The structure may have been manufactured by the disclosed method.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of making a fragmenting structure for an explosive device, comprising:
placing a volume of fragments of a deformable metal material into a press mold, the fragments having sufficient surface adhesiveness to adhere to each other upon being compressed together; and
compressing the fragments together in the press mold to form the fragmenting structure as a rigid and substantially void-free structure of compression-deformed, mutually adhering metal fragments, the fragmenting structure being sized and shaped for subsequent incorporation into the explosive device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the press mold is a converging press mold having a reduced-radius section, and wherein compressing the fragments together includes pushing compressed fragments into the reduced-radius section, inducing a hoop stress causing the compressed fragments to lengthen.

3. The method of claim 1 , further including (1) prior to placing the volume of fragments into the press mold, coating the fragments with a thin layer of adhesive to cause the fragments to adhere to each other, and (2) after compressing the fragments together, allowing the adhesive to cure.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fragments have respective L/D ratios less than 1.5, the L/D ratio for a fragment being a ratio of maximum fragment diameter to minimum fragment diameter.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fragmenting structure has one layer of the metal fragments.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fragmenting structure has multiple layers of the metal fragments.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein compressing the fragments deforms the fragments into have generally polyhedral shapes with faces abutting faces of neighboring fragments in the fragmenting structure.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fragmenting structure has a cylindrical shape corresponding to a cylindrical boundary of the an explosive fill.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fragments are of multiple predetermined sizes.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal fragments are of a malleable metal material.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the malleable metal material is selected from copper and tantalum.

Assignees

• Textron Innovations Inc

Inventors

• Miller Clayton W
• Hollowell James A

Classifications

• Y10T428/1209

  Plural particulate metal components · CPC title

• F42B12/24

  with grooves, recesses or other wall weakenings {(F42B12/26, F42B12/28 take precedence)} · CPC title

• B32B9/041

  of metal · CPC title

• F42B33/00

  Manufacture of ammunition; Dismantling of ammunition; Apparatus therefor (F42B5/188 takes precedence; manufacturing processes for hollow charges F42B1/036; manufacture of blasting cartridge initiators F42B3/195) · CPC title

• B32B15/043

  of metal (B32B15/01 takes precedence) · CPC title