Research on the Decrease of Dud Ammunition Rate of 40mm Grenade(K200) Fuze through Quality Improvement

Recently, ammunition malfunctions of the 40mm grenade were reported during live fire training. When 72 40mm grenades were fired by the army, 11 duds were encountered. The dud ammunition rate was approximately 15%. Because ammunition is used a long time after its manufacture, it is necessary to ensure its performance after long-term storage. In this study, we attempted to decrease the dud ammunition rate of 40mm grenade (K200) fuzes through quality improvement. First, it was determined by the detonator performance test that abnormal explosions occurred due to the degradation of the detonator as a result of its aging characteristics. Second, we improved the fuze quality of the 40mm grenade. Third, we tested its shelf life to estimate its life expectancy. The shelf life of the 40mm grenade fuze obtained using the Arrhenius equation was 6.5 years for the existing grenade fuze and 45.5 years for the improved grenade fuze. This showed that the shelf life of the improved grenade was increased approximately 7 times. Therefore, the improved 40mm grenade fuze contributes to the quality improvement of the 40mm grenade by decreasing the dud ammunition rate during long term storage.