The Natural Spread and Tumbling of the Shaped Charge Jet Segments

✍ Scribed by E. Hirsch

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1981
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 853 KB
• Volume: 6
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0721-3115
• DOI: 10.1002/prep.19810060406

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The collapse mechanism of the shaped charge jet prevents the formation of a jet, the segments of which move in a straight line with absolute accuracy, even under the assumption that the shaped charge is ideally symmetrical. This is a result of the fact that the jet break‐up mechanism already starts at the collapse stage, in which the liner material has a big transversal velocity component.

A model for calculating the distribution of the angle by which the jet segments' direction of movement deviates from the shaped charge axis of symmetry (the spread angle) is presented in detail. The tumbling frequency of the segments as a function of their velocity and final length is also predicted by the theory.

The predictions made by applying the model to the standard 83.8 mm 42 degrees opening angle B.R.L. precision shaped charge were found to be consistent with the data published in open literature. The comparison of these predictions with the data leads also to the conclusion that the cutoff in the copper jet penetration into steel targets occurs when the jet segments start to hit the walls of the already formed hole instead of reaching its bottom without being disturbed on their way.