An analytical study of fire out of battery using magneto rheological dampers

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Ahmadian, Mehdi | Appleton, Randall | Norris, James A.

Affiliations: Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MC-0238, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA | Advanced Systems Development, United Defense, L.P., Minneapolis, MN 55421-1238, USA

Note: [] Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 540 231 4920; Fax: +1 540 231 9100; E-mail: ahmadian@vt.edu

Abstract: The application of magneto rheological dampers for controlling the dynamics of a fire out-of-battery recoil system is examined, using a dynamic simulation of a 105mm cannon. Upon providing a brief background on MR dampers and fire out-of-battery dynamics, we will describe the simulation model, along with some of the results obtained from the model. The simulation results show that although conventional hydraulic recoil dampers can be designed and tuned to control fire out-of-battery dynamics as effectively as MR dampers, they are not able to perform well when firing faults are encountered. The results show that MR dampers are able to adapt to the firing faults such as pre-fire, hang-fire, and misfire and provide "soft recoil" under all firing conditions. The inability of conventional hydraulic dampers to adapt to the firing faults can yield recoil dynamics that seriously jeopardize the performance of the gun. Therefore, the results presented here show that MR dampers may provide an enabling technology in achieving fire out-of-battery under all firing conditions.

Journal: Shock and Vibration, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 129-142, 2002