ANALOG COMPUTER STUDY OF REACTIONLESS LAUNCHERS

Closed-breech interior-ballistic equations were modified for predicting the performance of reactionless launchers. Test firings were made using two reactionless launchers of the Davis Gun type. Direct and high-low launchers were considered. The test firing data was compared with the curves obtained from an analog computer. Using the differences noted, certain factors of the original equations programmed into the computer were varied in order to bring the computer curves into close agreement with actual test results. These factors included heat loss coefficient, initial charge burnt, and in the case of the high-low gun the effective mean impetus of the propellant during the ballistic cycle. It was concluded that the knowledge gained with the computer can be used to optimize the performance of reactionless systems.