Energy criteria for combustion control in a large caliber gun

The potential for improvement of the characteristics of large caliber guns has not reached its limit. Some of the problems still to be solved are the varying velocity of rounds at different temperatures and the tailoring of the pressure profile. The limiting case is a "constant pressure" approximation. Combustion control can be applied for solving these problems. A direct input of electrical energy in the form of an electrical arc in a combustion chamber is considered. For a realization of an effective combustion control this kind of energy input seems to be the favorable method in comparison to the indirect input of electrical energy e.g. plasma injection from a capillary discharge. As a baseline case a 120 mm gun and JA2 propellant are considered. The effect of radiation on the JA2 propellant, screening the radiation by the propellant grains are the key points investigated and discussed. The energy criteria for combustion control and influence of radiation on the combustion process are defined.