Impact test apparatus

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION WITH A SMOOTH BORE IMPACT TEST GUN OF THE TYPE FOR IMPELLING A PROJECTILE ALONG A RECTILINEAR TRAJECTORY, APPARATUS FOR USE IN INVESTIGATING THE RESULTS OF IMPACT OF A FRAGMENT OF A SAMPLE OF A SPECIMEN METAL MATEIAL AGAINST A RIGID IMPACT SURFACE IN AN EFFECTIVELY SEALED CHAMBER FOR CONTAINING A SAMPLE OF A SPECIMEN OF A GASEOUS MEDIUM, COMPRSING: (A) SAID GUN HAVING A BARREL WITH A FRONT END AND BEING OF A TYPE HAVING A GAS VENTING BARREL EXTENSION AND HAVING A VACUUM CHAMBER SURROUNDING THE BARREL EXTENSION, THE WALL OF THE BARREL EXTENSION CONTAINING A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING LATERAL OPENINGS EQUIANGULARLY SPACED ABOUT THE BORE AXIS TO VENT THE GUN PROPELLANT GASES FROM BEHIND A PROJECTILE DURING THE PERIOD SAME TRAVELS ALONG THE BARREL EXTENSION, SAID VACUUM CHAMBER HAVING EVACUATION PORT MEANS FOR CONNECTION TO A VACUUM LINE, (B) A FIRST CYLINDRICAL HOUSING DEFINING A CYLINDRICAL SPACE ADJOINING THE FRONT END OF MUZZLE EXTENSION, SAID FIRST HOUSING BEING RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO THE FRONT END OF THE GUN BARREL IN COAXIALLY ALIGNED RELATIONSHIP ABOUT THE GUN BORE AXIS, SAID SPACE ENCLOSED BY SAID FIRST HOUSING COMMUNICATING WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE VACUUM CHAMBER THROUGH THE BORE AND LATERAL OPENINGS OF THE BARREL EXTENSION, (C) A SECOND COAXIALLY ALIGNED CYLINDRICAL HOUSING, SAID SECOND HOUSING DISPOSED AXIALLY ADJACENT THE FRONT END OF THE FIRST HOUSING AND HAVING EVACUATION AND GAS ENTRY PORT MEANS FOR EVACUATING GAS FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE SECOND HOUSING AND FOR ADMITTING A PRECISELY METERED SAMPLE OF A SPECIMEN GASEOUS MEDIUM THERETO, (D) A SPECIMEN PLATE OF SAID SPECIMEN METAL MATERIAL DISPOSED BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND HOUSINGS AND TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE PROJECTILE TRAJECTORY PATH FROM THE GUN, (E) A PAIR OF FLANGES, ONE RIGIDLY AFFIXED TO THE FORWARD END OF THE FIRST CYLINDRICAL HOUSING, AND THE OTHER TO THE REARWARD END OF THE SECOND CYLINDRICAL HOUSING, THE FLANGES HAVING CONFRONTING FACES, AND MEANS TO RIGIDLY FASTEN SAID FLANGES TOGETHER WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE FACES IN CLAMPING AND SEALING ENGAGEMENT AGAINST OPPOSITE FACES OF THE SPECIMEN PLATE, SAID SPECIMEN PLATE FORMING A RUPTURABLE WALL BETWEEN THE INTERIORS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND HOUSINGS, (F) A CLOSURE AFFIXED OVER THE FRONT END OF THE SECOND HOUSING, THE INTERIOR SURFACE OF THE CLOSURE FORMING THE RIGID IMPACT SURFACE AGAINST WHICH THE FRAGMENT OF SPECIMEN METAL MATERIAL IS IMPACTED, (G) A SLEEVE SUPPORT BLOCK HAVING A COAXIALLY ALIGNED TAPERED BORE EXTENDING BETWEEN ITS ENDS AND RIGIDLY SUPPORTED IN SAID SPACE WITHIN THE FIRST HOUSING, THE SLEEVE SUPPORT BLOCK HAVING ITS OUTER SURFACE IN GAS SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE WALL OF THE FIRST CYLINDRICAL HOUSING, SAID TAPERED BORE HAVING ITS MAXIMUM INTERNAL DIAMETER AT THE BORE OPENING AT THE REAR END OF THE SLEEVE SUPPORT BLOCK, WHICH MAXIMUM INTERNAL DIAMETER IS EQUAL TO THE INTERNAL DIAMETER OF THE GUN BORE, SAID DIAMETER OF THE BORE DECREASING THE FORWARD DIRECTION ALONG THE SLEEVE SUPPORT BLOCK, (H) A TAPERED WALLED SLEEVE OF DUCTILE MATERIAL FITTED INTO THE TAPERED BORE OF THE SLEEVE SUPPORT BLOCK, SAID TAPERED WALLED SLEEVE HAVING A UNIFORM DIAMETERED BORE BETWEEN ITS ENDS, THE WALL THICKNESS DECREASING IN THE FORWARD DIRECTION TO PROVIDE AN OUTER SLEEVE SURFACE MATCHED TO FIT THE TAPERED BORE OF THE SLEEVE SUPPORT BLOCK, THE REAR END OF THE SLEEVE FORMING A TRANSVERSE ANNULAR SABOT IMPACT SURFACE, (I) A FIRST PROJECTILE FORMING A SABOT FOR FORWARD PROPULSION ALONG THE BORE OF THE GUN AND BARREL EXTENSION AND FOR EXIT FROM THE FRONT END OF THE BARREL EXTENSION ALONG A RECTILINEAR TRAJECTORY, SAID SABOT PROJECTILE BEING OF AN EXTERNAL DIAMETER ESSENTIALLY EQUAL TO THAT OF THE GUN BORE FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INTERNAL SURFACE OF THE BORE, SAID FIRST PROJECTILE AT ITS FRONT END FORMING AN ANNULAR TRANSVERSE IMPACT SURFACE CONFRONTING THE IMPACT SURFACE AT THE REAR END OF THE TAPERED WALL SLEEVE, (J) A SECOND PROJECTILE FOR PUNCHING OUT A SAMPLE OF THE SPECIMEN PLATE, SAID SECOND PROJECTILE BEING SEPARABLY CARRIED BY THE FIRST PROJECTILE AT ITS FRONT END IN THE CENTRAL ZONE INSIDE THE IMPACT SURFACE, (K) THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE FIRST AND SECOND PROJECTILES, THE SLEEVE SUPPORT BLOCK, AND THE TAPERED WALLED SLEEVE BEING SUCH THAT UPON IMPACT OF THE TRANSVERSE IMPACT SURFACES OF FIRST PROJECTILE AND THE TAPERED WALLED SLEEVE, THE TAPERED WALLED SLEEVE IS CONSTRAINED AGAINST FORWARD AXIAL MOVEMENT BY CONSTRUCTION EFFECTS PROVIDED BY THE FORWARDLY DECREASING DIAMETER OF THE TAPERED BORE IN THE SLEEVE SUPPORT BLOCK, AND THE SECOND PROJECTILE SEPARATES FROM THE FIRST PROJECTILE AND PASSES THROUGH THE BORE OF THE TAPERED WALL SLEEVE AND OUT OF THE FRONT END OF THE LATTER ALONG A RECTILINEAR TRAJECTORY INTO COLLISION WITH THE SPECIMEN PLATE TO PUNCH OUT AND IMPEL A FRAGMENT OF THE LATTER INTO IMPACT WITH THE IMPACT SURFACE AT THE FRONT END OF THE GAS AND IMPACT CHAMBER, AND SUCH THAT AFTER SAID SECOND PROJECTILE HAS PASSED THROUGH THE BORE OF THE TAPERED WALLED SLEEVE THE ENERGY IMPARTED TO THE TAPERED WALLED DUCTILE SLEEVE BY THE IMPACT OF THE FIRST PROJECTILE CAUSES THE TAPERED WALLED SLEEVE TO COLLAPSE TO CLOSE AND HERMETICALLY SEAL THE BORE OF THE SLEEVE SUPPORT BLOCK TO PREVENT ESCAPE OF THE GASES FLOWING FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE SECOND HOUSING THROUGH THE FRACTURED SPECIMEN PLATE, SAID SECOND PROJECTILE ACCELERATING TO A VELOCITY GREATER THAN THAT OF THE FIRST PROJECTILE UNDER THE ENERGY IMPARTED THERETO BY THE IMPACT BETWEEN THE PROJECTILE AND THE TAPERD WALLED SLEEVE.