Miniaturized inertia Generators as power supplies for small-caliber fuzes

This paper describes miniaturized inertia generators for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy for military applications, especially as power supplies for electrical fuzes. In order to minimize the volume of the generators, our design adopted a ring-shaped magnet enclosing a coil assembly. The inertia generators are intended not to ignite an electrical detonator but to charge a capacitor that drives the electric circuit of fuze. A mechanical safety system, a shear plate, is used as a release mechanism for the inertia generators to prevent them from operating accidentally. We designed the inertia generators by using the simulation results of an electromagnetic analysis tool. In an experimental study, we performed safety tests on the shear plate and firing tests of the fabricated inertia generators. The present inertia generators show that a voltage of 14.2 V was charged on a capacitor of 30 /spl mu/F within the charging time of 0.68 ms and the critical acceleration for safety was 5000 G, verifying that the inertia generators can be used as power supplies for small-caliber electrical fuzes.