Design and analysis of a long fiber thermoplastic composite tailcone for a tank gun training round

The increasing demand for low cost composites in military applications is accompanied by the need to develop cost-effective and high-performance material forms and processing technologies. Innovative composite technologies (material forms, fabrication processes, and design and simulation) have the potential to provide effective solutions for reducing weight and cost of weapon systems and ammunitions. A kinetic energy (KE) penetrator is used as tank ammunition and concentrates an extremely high amount of kinetic energy over a relatively small surface area of the target. In this study, the design and analysis of a tailcone (which is a subcomponent) of an artillery training round (conventionally manufactured of aluminum) using long fiber thermoplastic (LFT) composite material and processing technologies was conducted. The function of a tailcone is to stabilize and limit the range of travels of the projectile. Finite element analysis was used to design and evaluate the response of a LFT composite tailcone to pressure, gravitational load, and temperature during its path from inside the bore of the gun up to its flight in air. Subsequent field testing of the designed composite training round served as a validation of the finite element models developed. By implementing the proposed LFT composite tailcone, a cost savings in the order of 70% is projected in comparison to the existing aluminum design, without compromising performance.