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Although underwater submerged launching has been rigorously investigated for decades, there remains a dearth of comprehensive understanding regarding the underwater interior ballistic characteristics for varying barrel lengths. To address this knowledge gap, the present study aims to explore, via numerical simulations, the initial velocity of interior ballistics, projectile drag, and the mechanism of initial flow field formation at the muzzle under various barrel lengths, thereby considering the influence of differing barrel lengths. The five distinct lengths of barrels are expressed as dimensionless ratios of the weight of water column in front of the projectile to the weight of the projectile in order to be more general. Five different ratios of water-to-projectile weight are investigated: 1.0, 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, and 2.0, all possessing identical diameters and evaluated under equivalent launch conditions. Different ratios significantly impact muzzle velocity, with shorter barrels yielding higher muzzle velocities, while ensuring complete propellant combustion. Further investigations indicate that variations in drag constitute the fundamental cause of initial velocity changes. Furthermore, it is observed that barrels of different lengths exhibit identical characteristics at the point of maximum drag. The initial flow field at the muzzle exhibits considerable variations in terms of length, profile dimensions, and intensity. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into exploring the mechanism of submerged launching and will be utilized to investigate the optimal barrel length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An excellent flame suppression effect can be achieved using a novel porous brake. To understand the flame-suppression mechanism of a porous brake, combustion using a muzzle brake is investigated. A set of internal ballistic equations is employed to provide accurate velocity and pressure for a projectile moving to the muzzle. The multispecies transport Navier–Stokes equations, which incorporate complex chemical reactions, are solved by coupling a real gas equation of state, the Soave–Redlich–Kwong model, and a detailed chemical reaction kinetic model. The development of muzzle flow with a chemical reaction is simulated, and the interaction between chemical reactions with the muzzle flow field is numerically calculated to explain the muzzle combustion mechanism with a porous brake. The underlying mechanism is analyzed in detail. The results demonstrate that, first, the gas is fully expanded in the brake, leading to a reduction in pressure and temperature at the muzzle, thereby reducing the initial flame. In addition, the shock wave weakens due to the expansion and separation process, leading to a reduction in the mixture of gas and air, ultimately resulting in a reduction in the intermediate and secondary flames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To further understand a muzzle combustion mechanism in high-altitude firing, the influence of supersonic flow on a muzzle combustion phenomenon is investigated. The set of internal ballistic equations is employed, providing accurate velocity and pressure when the projectile moves to the muzzle. Multispecies transport Navier–Stokes equations with complex chemical reactions are solved by coupling a real gas equation of state, the Soave–Redlich–Kwong model, and a detailed chemical reaction kinetic model. The development of muzzle flow with chemical reaction is simulated. The interaction of chemical reactions with the muzzle flow field is obtained by numerical simulation in order to explain the muzzle combustion phenomenon of fire at supersonic flight. The mechanism of muzzle combustion influenced by supersonic incoming flow is analyzed in detail. It is demonstrated from the results that the shock wave and the expansion of the jet are restrained so that the combustion is compressed behind the projectile, at the same time generating a second region of combustion behind the muzzle under the influence of supersonic incoming flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To comprehensively understand the dynamic behavior of muzzle bubbles during underwater launching, an emptying process aligned with the muzzle flow characteristics is established and an evaporative condensation mechanism is modeled according to the high temperature and pressure properties of the propellant gas. Utilizing the spherical bubble theory, which comprises the inflation process and evaporative condensation effects, the dynamics of muzzle bubbles and their corresponding pressure waves are investigated. The numerical simulation results well agree with the experimental observations in terms of bubble radius and near-field pressure waves. Furthermore, the influence of two key factors on the bubble dynamics is examined: underwater launching depth and initial muzzle pressures. The results illustrate that the inflation process needs to be accurately described for precise pressure wave predictions. Using the evaporation condensation model, the bubble radius and frequency can be accurately characterized. Moreover, the launching depth influences the free expansion radius and oscillation frequency mostly due to the increase in hydrostatic pressure, which decreases by 33% and increases by 150% in the 1–20 m range, respectively. The initial muzzle pressure affects the initial expansion velocity and initial shock wave mainly due to the increase in the mass flow rate, which increase by 56% and 82% in the 35–65 MPa range, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mathematical and physical models of the underwater submerged gun are established to study the flow field distribution characteristics of the gun muzzle at different water depths. The Schnerr–Sauer cavitation model and the realizable k–ω transport turbulence model based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes method are employed. The muzzle flow field for the 12.7 mm gun that is submerged launched underwater is numerically simulated by combining user-defined functions and overlapping mesh technology. The flow characteristics of the density, velocity, and pressure fields at the gun muzzle at different water depths are analyzed in detail. The results show that the muzzle flow morphology depends mainly on the pressure at different water depths. The muzzle flow field distribution in deep water is more flat due to the high value of water pressure, which limits the expansion of the muzzle gas, and the range of the velocity field of the muzzle flow field at 100 m is one time smaller than that at 1 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]