Shock-resistant fuzewell for munition

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9816793-B2
Application number	US-201515117875-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 11, 2015
Priority date	Feb 11, 2014
Publication date	Nov 14, 2017
Grant date	Nov 14, 2017

Abstract

A munition, such as a warhead, includes a penetrator casing for penetrating hard targets, such as a fortification or inforced building or other structure, with the penetrator casing having reduced-thickness portions. The munition also includes a shock-resistant fuzewell for absorbing shocks during the penetration, to allow a fuze within the fuzewell to survive hard target penetration. The fuzewell may have one or more shock-absorbing features, such as having a ring surrounding a central housing, with flexible spokes connecting the ring to the central housing. The shock-absorbing features may allow the fuze to withstand the penetration into a hard target, with the fuze subsequently being used to detonate an explosive of the munition.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A munition comprising:
a penetrator casing; and
a fuzewell within the penetrator casing;
wherein the fuzewell includes one or more shock-absorbing features for absorbing shocks;
wherein the fuzewell includes a central housing, and a ring surrounding the central housing;
wherein the one or more shock-absorbing features include spokes that connect the ring to the central housing;
wherein the spokes preferentially deform relative to the central housing; and
wherein the spokes are curved in a circumferential direction, with both radial surfaces of each of the spokes curved in the same circumferential direction, thereby facilitating flexing of the spokes in response to forces on the fuzewell in a radial direction.

2. The munition of claim 1 , wherein the one or more shock-absorbing features facilitate absorption of shocks in a radial, circumferential, and/or axial direction.

3. The munition of claim 1 , wherein the spokes have variations in thickness that facilitate flexing of the spokes in response to forces on the munition, such as forces in the radial, circumferential, and/or axial direction(s).

4. The munition of claim 3 , wherein the spokes define openings between the spokes, with the openings operable to vent gases from an explosive that is within the casing.

5. The munition claim 4 , wherein the central housing has a non-uniform thickness.

6. The munition of claim 5 , wherein the ring is connected to a relatively thick portion of the central housing.

7. The munition of claim 1 , further comprising a fuze within the central housing, the fuze operably coupled to an explosive within the penetrator casing to detonate the explosive.

8. The munition of claim 7 , wherein the central housing has an opening for receiving an electrical line for coupling to the fuze.

9. The munition of claim 1 , wherein the fuzewell has an axisymmetric configuration about a longitudinal axis of the munition.

10. The munition of claim 1 , wherein the casing has a series of elongate reduced-thickness portions, thinner than portions of the casing that are adjacent the reduced-thickness portions.

11. The munition of claim 10 , wherein the elongate reduced-thickness portions are non-intersecting elongate reduced-thickness portions.

12. The munition of claim 10 ,
wherein the penetrator casing has a nose, and an aft section extending back from the nose;
wherein the reduced-thickness portions are parts of the aft section; and
wherein the nose has a thickest portion that is at least twice the thickness of the portions of the casing that are adjacent the reduced-thickness portions.

13. The munition of claim 12 , wherein the aft section is substantially cylindrical.

14. The munition of claim 10 , further comprising a lethality-enhancement material located at the reduced-thickness portions of the penetrator casing.

15. The munition of claim 14 , wherein the lethality-enhancement material includes solid fragments that are projected by the warhead when the explosive is detonated.

16. The munition of claim 14 , wherein the lethality-enhancement material includes an energetic material that releases energy when the explosive is detonated.

17. The munition of claim 1 , wherein the fuzewell is made of steel.

18. The munition of claim 1 , wherein the fuzewell is made of a single piece of material.

19. The munition of claim 1 , where each of the spokes has sloped surfaces in both axial directions parallel to a longitudinal axis of the munition, sloping from a relatively narrow connection at the ring to a broader connection at the central housing.

Assignees

• Raytheon Co

Inventors

• Budy George D
• Lee Wayne Y
• Waddell Jesse T

Classifications

• F42C19/02 Primary

  Fuze bodies; Fuze housings · CPC title

• F42B12/22

  with fragmentation-hull construction · CPC title

• F42B12/04

  of armour-piercing type · CPC title

• F42B12/24

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

• F42B12/32

  the hull or case comprising a plurality of discrete bodies, e.g. steel balls, embedded therein {or disposed around the explosive charge} · CPC title