Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Armor Piercing Projectile


Abstract :

A firearm projectile includes a precision-machined outer component having a  generally cylindrical body, a tip at the forward end of the body, a base at the rear end of the body, and a precision-machined cavity machined into the outer component. A precision-machined inner component is pressed into the cavity.

The outer component includes a homogeneous material that is softer than firearm barrel
steel. The inner component includes a material having a higher density than the outer
component and a higher density that an armor plate, such as solid Tungsten, Tungsten Carbide, and potential some Nanatechnology materials such as NanoSteel.

A cap may be attached to the outer component to seal the inner component inside the cavity. The cavity can be machined from the front or rear end of the outer component.The cap fits into the rear of the projectile or may be a bullet tip. The cavity and the inner component may be cylindrical or tapered.

In addition, the armor piercing projectile is heavy and inaccurate at long range. As a result, they are useful only at short ranges and add substantial weight to the heavy load. The effectiveness of these armor piercing projectiles is improved by using a Deplete Uranium core. However, the uranium increases the weight of the armor piercing projectile and does nothing to improve their accuracy. The uranium provides its improvement via its extreme mass, but improvements in the basic construction of armor piercing projectiles have not been addressed.A number of studies suggest that increased cancers and other abnormalities seen in the first Gulf war were due to the use of depleted uranium penetrators.


A side view of an advanced armor piercing projectile.

12 : a precision-machined outer component 12.
14 : a generally cylindrical body,
16 : a tip tapered from a forward end of the body 14,
18 : a base at a rear end of the body 14.

A precision-machined cavity 20 is formed into the outer component 12. The cavity 20 is machined from the base 18 toward the interior of the outer component 12. A matching precision-machined inner component 30 is pressed into the cavity 20.

A cap 40 is pressed into a recess 22 in the base 18 and across the inner component 30 to seal the inner component 30 inside the cavity 20. The base 18 may include a boat tail 24 for aerodynamic considerations. The precision-machining process may be accomplished with a precision lathe, a drill.


The projectile is composed of two solid metals or metal alloys with the outer component 12 soft enough to engrave on the barrel's rifling and the inner component 30, or penetrator, which is harder than the intended armor target.

One theory to explain this bullet's effectiveness is that the outer component 12 concentrates its kinetic energy at the point at contact with the target while the outer component 12 itself is turned into an imperfect fluid. As it turns into an imperfect fluid, it penetrates the armor target to some degree and acts to shield  the inner componnet 30 for a short time. The short delay permits the inner component 30 (penetrator) a running start to try to perforate the target before the inner component 30 turns into an imperfect fluid.

At the time the projectile 10 impacts the target, if the penetrator 30 has adequate velocity and remains in its solid state long enough, the penetrator 30 will continue to penetrate the target until the target is completely perforated. Such a projectile 10 can be used alone or encased in a sabot for superior armor penetration and perforation.

The precision manufacturing process insures that the gyroscopic stability of the projectile during flight remains optimal. This stability has two effects : first, the projectile will behave in a very predictable manner over a very long distance, well over a mile, and will not deviate from its original trajectory except due to wind, gravity, Coriolis Effect; and second, a stable projectile
impacts a target in a predictable and repeatable manner, resulting in a more uniform terminal ballistics properties. Ultimately, this stability provides heretofore unknown levels of confidence for military planners and marksman. Of course the projectile must be imparted with the proper spin rate from a barrel having the proper twist rate.
A rear view of the advanced armor piercing projectile.

Reference :

Advanced Armor-Piercing Projectile Construction and Method.

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