Common Time Reference for Interior Ballistic Data.

Abstract : The world of interior ballistics has long been confronted with the lack of consistent time reference points. The ballistic process has no clearly defined zero time point and no clear measure of the length of the pressure pulse. The normal ballistic plot usually has a rather clear peak pressure, but without a clear zero the time-to-peak is an elusive concept. This work will demonstrate the use of mathematical functions to establish a consistent time reference zero time and a well-defined time-to-peak or time constant. These two parameters can then be combined with the nominal peak pressure, to produce nondimensional ballistic data. (MM)