Gun-launched variable thrust ramjet projectile
US4502649A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 16, 1983 |
| Grant date | Mar 5, 1985 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 16, 2003 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF42B15/00
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A gun-launched ramjet projectile follows a classical vacuum ballistic trajectory by maintaining a thrust-drag balance. The thrust of the ramjet is varied by an air door which bleeds air from the duct that leads from the supersonic diffuser at the front of the projectile to the combustion chamber. The control system for the air door includes an actuator and a pair of accelerometers, the output of which is integrated to provide an indication of velocity. The first accelerometer operates during the launching of the projectile in the gun to measure the launch velocity. A second, and more sensitive, accelerometer measures in-flight velocity changes due to atmospheric conditions. Both of the measured velocities are compared with prerecorded standards and error signals are derived representing any velocity deviations. These error signals are combined and then used to drive the air doors which varies the thrust of the ramjet so that it follows the classical vacuum ballistic trajectory.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.