Internal Ballistics of a Spring
Transcription
Internal Ballistics of a Spring
Internal Ballistics of a Spring-Air Pellet Gun Stephen J. Compton 05/18/2007 Abstract The internal workings of the common spring-air pellet gun is modeled in this work. This mathematical model is designed to accurately determine the ballistic performance and maximum internal gas pressure of a specific design at the drawing board stage. The model is based upon basic principles of physics including, energy analysis principles, Hook’s law for springs, the ideal gas law, linear and rotational kinetic energy, and Newton’s laws of motion, as well as ballistic quantification of bore friction. Model solution was obtained using MATLAB to numerically solve a system of linear ordinary differential equations. 1 1 Introduction A spring-air pellet gun is a firearm which fires a bullet or pellet purely from the force of compressed air from a spring piston chamber. These firearms are ideal for folks who love the shooting sports, but who dont live in the countryside. Spring-air pellet guns are quieter then conventional cartridge firearms. Being of low power these guns can allow a safe, indoor target range in the privacy of ones own home. With a pellet gun’s greater safety and much quieter operation, private lands hunting permission is often easier to obtain. Pellet rifle hunting is a scaled down version of varmint and small game hunting, normally done with a light cartridge firearm. Pellet rifles are used instead of cartridge firearms for safety and perhaps surprisingly, for effectiveness. Because they deliver the same energy on each shot, the trajectory of a spring-air pellet gun is extremely consistent – they are often more accurate then conventional firearms. In addition the fact that they are relatively quite is a great advantage to the hunter. The specific game which is hunted depends on the power and caliber of the pellet gun in question – pellet guns have been successfully used to hunt game as small as mice and rats where conditions exist that prevent effective elimination by other means such as traps or poison bait. In addition there are some very large and powerful spring-air pellet guns which can effectively be used to hunt game as large as the various species of North American deer. One such spring-air pellet gun, which is marketed as a survival weapon, is capable of launching a .45caliber 180 grain pellet at velocities approaching the speed of sound ( Speed 2 of Sound ≈ 340 m/s ). The most common caliber in the United States is the .177 caliber. The more powerful versions are capable of effectively being used to hunt small game up to, and including, fox and is commonly used to hunt gophers, rabbits, and squirrels. Spring-piston guns operate by means of a coiled spring and piston contained within a compression chamber. Cocking the gun causes the piston spring to be compressed; pulling the trigger releases the piston allowing it to move, compressing the air in the chamber directly behind the pellet. Once the air pressure has risen enough the pellet moves forward, propelled by an expanding column of air. All this takes place in a fraction of a second. Most spring piston guns are single-shot by nature. Such spring-air pellet guns are able to achieve muzzle velocities near, or in some cases, in excess of the speed of sound from a single stroke of a cocking lever. The difficulty of the cocking stroke is usually related to the power of the gun, with higher muzzle velocities requiring greater cocking effort. The better quality spring-air guns can have long service lives, often exceeding thirty years. The design and manufacture of spring-air pellet guns offer a set of engineering and economic problems. Although quality is a factor, the market selling price of the various models of spring-air pellet guns shows a direct relationship between the price and the ballistic performance of the firearm. Spring-air pellet guns with very low power levels sell for as little as twenty dollars. High power supersonic weapons sell for over five hundred dollars, even in used condition, and often carry four digit price tags when new. It is therefore, very advantages to be able to quantify the real world muzzle velocity and ballistic energy of a spring-air pellet gun design at the drawing board stage before resources are expended to build a prototype for testing. The primary selling point, and primary consideration, of a spring-air pellet gun is the muzzle velocity it is capable of generating with a common weight pellet. However, there is another consideration, especially when considering calibers other then .177, this consideration is the muzzle energy of the pellet. The muzzle energy of the pellet is a function of its velocity, mass, and gyration spin imparted by the barrels rifling. 3 One specific design concern is the maximum internal gas pressure generated within the spring chamber and barrel of the firearm. This maximum gas pressure value has a direct relationship to the necessary strength and quantity of the materials used in the construction of the firearm as well as the specific design itself. This will play a significant part in determine the manufacturing cost of a spring-air pellet gun. The problem of determining these values without an actual working prototype in the lab via mathematical analysis of the internal forces at work during the firing sequence can be quite daunting. There are two separate moving objects which interact during the firing sequence; the plunger attached to the spring which serves as the mechanism’s power plant and the pellet within the bore. Each of these two objects have their own position, velocity, and acceleration vectors and due to the compressed gas which serves as a medium between them the individual values of each of these vectors has an effect on the value of the other vectors. It appears to be an endless circle where each value is dependent upon the other values and there appears to be no solution via normal arithmetic, algebra, or calculus. In order to solve this problem we must go one step higher in the math hierocracy. The only way to solve this particular problem is through the mathematical science known as ”Ordinary Differential Equations” or ODE for short. This system is in affect a system of two second degree ODE equations. The compressed gas, which links these two equations, can be used to define the two acceleration terms as functions of the position terms, thus, simplifying the ODE system from a second order system to a first order system. A first order system of two equations is solvable using this mathematical science. 2 Basic Principles and Equations of Physics A ground work starting from the most basic principles of physics must be laid in order to build a realistic model of the internal forces at work. First, of all energy cannot be created or destroyed but merely converted from one form to another. The total energy input must exactly equal the total energy output, in any system or machine. In the case of a spring-air pellet gun the input energy is the mechanical force imparted by the user in cocking the coil spring within the internal workings of the firearm. The energy stored in the spring can be quantified through the integration of Hook’s law which states that the force exerted by a spring is directly proportional and opposite to the displacement: 4 Z Energy Stored In Spring = (Spring Force) Z xsf (kx)dx = xso = 1 k(xsf − xso )2 2 Where: xso = Length of Spring Compressed Before Cocking xsf = Length of Spring Compressed After Cocking This equation represents the total energy stored in the spring before the firing sequence begins. During the firing sequence, the energy released by the spring is transferred to the pellet via the medium of compressed gas in the internal spring plunger chamber and barrel behind the pellet. The pressure of this gas (air) as a function of its changing volume and temperature, is quantified by the Ideal Gas Law: Po Vo P (t)V (t) = To T (t) The first assumption will now be made in this model. The assumption is that the temperature of the compressed gas within the internal mechanism remains constant. This assumption is very reasonable when one considers the minuscule mass of gas trapped inside the comparatively massive heat sink of the pellet guns metal components. This massive heat sink should serve to maintain a constant gas temperature during the firing sequence. With this assumption the Ideal Gas Law can be simplified for this mathematical model so that the pressure is only a function of the changing volume: Po Vo = P (t)V (t) Po Vo P (t) = V (t) Next, since we are only concerned with the pressure above atmospheric pressure we will subtract the initial (atmospheric) pressure from the equation. P (t) = Po Vo − Po V (t) 5 The compressed gas not only transfers energy but also stores it. The amount of energy stored in the gas due to its compression at any given time can be quantified through the integration of the previously determined equation for pressure: Po Vo − Po dx V (t) Z Vo Po Vo = − Po dx V (t) V (t) 2 Vo − 2Vo + V (t) = Po V (t) Z Energy Stored In Compressed Gas = The pellet during the travel down the bore experiences ballistic friction forces which result in kinetic energy being converted into heat energy. This energy is not destroyed but wasted in the sense that it is not used to accelerate the pellet towards its final muzzle velocity. This bore friction can be categorized into four separate friction forces which work together to account for the total energy wasted as bore friction. The first is simple gravitational friction: Simple Gravitational Friction = mp gµxp (t) Where: mp = Mass of Pellet g = Force of Local Gravitational Field µ = Kinetic Coefficient of Friction xp (t) = Position of Pellet in Barrel Second, is the rotational rifling friction: Z Rotational Rifling Friction = 2 Rπcµ( πc4 P (t) − mp ap (t)) sin θ + µ cos θ Where: R = Twist Rate of Rifling c = Caliber ap (t) = Acceleration of Pellet in Barrel θ = Angle of Rifling Twist 6 ! dxp (t) Third, is the linear rifling friction: Z Linear Rifling Friction = 4Ip Rπµap (t) c(cos θ − µ sin θ) dxp (t) Where: Ip = Mass Moment Inertia of Pellet Fourth, is the friction due to the elastic compression of the pellet being forced into the bore. This is an extremely complex statically indeterminant problem far beyond the scope of this paper. Any sensible engineering analysis in a time equals money business environment is best done through direct empirical analysis. One must simply quantify the necessary minimum force that is required to push a specific pellet through a bore of appropriate caliber at a constant but very low velocity. This value will remain the same provided the pellet and bore material remain the same regardless of what other factors change. This can be further generalized by dividing this force by the coefficient of friction between the pellets material and the barrel material. Thus, this force becomes a unique property of the specific pellet; allowing quick and easy analysis once this value has been determined and tabulated for a variety of common pellet designs. The gathering of such data can be easily done in any half-way decently equipped lab in a workday or less and would continue to be valid for the analysis of future designs for as long as those pellet designs remained popular. Considering that the lowly BB pellet design has been around for over a hundred years and the basic diabolo pellet design has been around for over 40 years – no problems there. Elastic Compression Friction = µFE.C. xp (t) Where: FE.C. = Elastic Compression Force of Pellet The elastic compression force of the pellet is empirical data obtained via the previous mentioned method such that: FE.C. = Fexp µexp Where: Fexp = Experimentally Determined Minimum Applied Force µexp = Coefficient of Friction During Experimental Analysis 7 The ultimate outcome of the process happening within the internal workings of a spring-air pellet gun is to impart a fairly large amount of kinetic energy to the pellet in the form of both linear velocity and rotational velocity. The linear kinetic energy of a projectile’s linear velocity. In this case, the pellet’s linear velocity is directly proportional to both the projectiles mass and the square of it’s velocity: Linear Kinetic Energy of Pellet = 1 mp (vp (t))2 2 Where: vp (t) = Velocity of Pellet in Barrel The rotational kinetic energy of the pellet is directly proportional to both the pellets mass moment of inertia and the square of its rotational velocity: Rotational Kinetic Energy of Pellet = 2Ip (Rπvp (t))2 Thus, the total kinetic energy of the pellet is the summation of the linear kinetic energy and the rotational kinetic energy: 1 mp (vp (t))2 + 2Ip (Rπvp (t))2 2 1 = mp (vp (t))2 + 2Ip R2 π 2 (vp (t))2 2 1 = ( mp + 2Ip R2 π 2 )(vp (t))2 2 Pellet Energy = Finally, only half of the output energy will actually by imparted to the pellet. Newton’s third law of motion clearly state that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction – in the case of firearms this is commonly known as recoil. The summation of these two equal energy outputs, the pellet energy and the recoil energy, represent the total output energy from the system at any given moment during the internal energy conversion process also known as the firing sequence. 8 3 Setup Energy Equation in Preparation to Solve Now that all the basic equations and principles have been gathered together it is time to setup the energy equations in preparation to solve the modeling problem. In order to produce a solvable system of equations for the model we must end up with two equations such that the velocity of the spring and the velocity of the pellet are defined as functions of the position of the spring, the position of the pellet in the barrel, and time elapsed during the firing sequence. First let’s begin with the fact that the output energy must equal the input energy. Followed by input energy is spring energy minus energy sinks, energy sinks are energy lost to bore friction, energy stored in the form of compressed gas, and kinetic energy of piston. Output energy is pellet kinetic energy and recoil kinetic energy, and finally, output energy can be simplified to be twice the pellet kinetic energy: Each one of these five terms must be mathematically defined from the previously outlined Physics equations and principles and substituted back into the equation. Due to the massive size and complexity of the resulting equation this substitution will be in most cases implied rather then actually shown. Firstoff, it is necessary to derive equations specifically defining the volume of the gas, pressure of the gas, acceleration of the spring piston, and acceleration of the pellet as functions of time elapsed during the firing sequence: 9 V (t) = Vo − π(rpiston )2 xs (t) + π 2 c xp (t) 4 Where: V (t) = Volume of Air as a Function of Time Vo = Volume of Air in Cylinder When the Air Gun is Cocked rpiston = Radius of Spring Piston xs (t) = Position of Spring Piston as a Function of Time xp (t) = Position of Pellet in Barrel as a Function of Time ———————————————————– P (t) = = Po Vo − Po V (t) Po Vo − Po Vo − π(rpiston )2 xs (t) + π4 c2 xp (t) Where: P (t) = Pressure as a Function of Time Po = Local Atmospheric Pressure ———————————————————– Σ(Force on Piston) ms k(xsf − xs (t)) − π(rpiston )2 P (t) = ms as (t) = Where: as (t) = Acceleration of Spring Piston as a Function of Time ms = Mass of Spring Piston + 1 /3 Spring Mass k = Spring Constant 10 ap (t) = = = P (t)πc2 4mp Po Vo 2 Vo −π(rpiston )2 xs (t)+ π 4 c xp (t) − Po πc2 4mp 4mp Po πc2 Po Vo πc2 − 4mp Vo − π(rpiston )2 xs (t) + π4 c2 xp (t) Now each of the five terms of the energy equation, Pellet Energy, Spring Energy, Bore Friction, Energy Stored In Compressed Gas, and Piston Kinetic Energy will be mathematically defined as functions of xs (t) and xp (t): 1 2(Pellet Energy) = 2( mp + 2Ip R2 π 2 )(vp (t))2 2 = (mp + 4Ip π 2 R2 )(vp (t))2 ———————————————————– 1 (Spring Energy) = k xsf xs (t) − (xs (t))2 2 ———————————————————– Due to its extensive length we will define the Bore Friction term to be the summation of its four components, Simple Gravitational Friction,Rotational Rifling Friction,Longitudinal Rifling Friction, and Elastic Compression Friction. Each of these components will be mathematically defined: (Simple Gravitational Friction) = mp gµxp (t) ———————————————————– 2 Rπcµ( πc4 P (t) − mp ap (t)) sin θ + µ cos θ ! Rπcµ(mp ap (t) − mp ap (t)) = sin θ + µ cos θ Z Rπcµ(0) = dxp (t) sin θ + µ cos θ Z (Rotational Rifling Friction) = Z =0 11 dxp (t) dxp (t) ———————————————————– (Elastic Compression Friction) = µFE.C. xp (t) ———————————————————– ———————————————————– (Piston Kinetic Energy) = 1 ms (vs (t))2 2 Where: vs (t) = Velocity of Spring Piston as a Function of Time 12 Finally, after all that pushing symbols around every terms of the energy equation has been defined in terms of vp (t), xp (t), vs (t), and xs (t). When you acknowledge that vp (t) is the derivative of xp (t) you can see that we have the beginning of a first order system of ODEs. There is a little hitch, however, we still need a second equation defining vs (t) which is the derivative of xs (t), both of which are terms in our energy equation. Solving directly for vs (t) using everything that has been learned so far is the most direct route: Now with a little bit of arithmetic we have a completed system of two first order differential equations: 4 Numerically Solve ODE System Unfortunately this system is far to complicated to solve via hand calculations (at least in my lifetime). It, therefore, will be necessary to solve this system via. numerical analysis methods performed by a computer. The following file when entered into MATLAB as a function M-file will preform these 13 calculations and also display a number of conceptual graphs along the way. The output values will be the muzzle velocity of the pellet, muzzle energy of the pellet, and the maximum gas pressure developed within the internal workings of spring-air pellet gun during the firing sequence. Necessary Input values are mp , ms , rpiston , c, R, FEC , µ, Ip , Vo , k, xsf , xso , and the barrel length. The proper values for g and Po are included within the file but can be changed if desired. This would only be done for unique situations such as if the spring-air pellet gun were fired at high altitude or on Mars instead of Earth. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------function y = Project %Allows M-file to be called as a function in MATLAB %Imput Specific Design Values global m_p m_s r_piston c R f_e mu I_p g P_o V_o k x_s_f x_s_o R_angle m_p = ****; %mass of pellet ( kg ) m_s = ****; %mass of spring piston + 1/3 spring mass ( kg ) r_piston = ****; %radius of spring piston in air gun ( m ) c = ****; %caliber ( m ) R = ****; %twist rate of rifling ( 1/m ) f_e = ****; %experimentally quantified elastic compression friction force for pellet-style ( N ) mu = ****; %kinetic coeficient of friction between pellet and barrel materials I_p = ****; %mass moment of inertia of pellet along its lognitudinal central axis ( kg*m^2 ) g = 9.801; %force of local gravitational feild (use standard earth value for analysis) ( m/(kg*s^2) ) P_o = 1.013*10^5; %local atmospheric pressure (normally set at see level for analysis) ( Pa ) V_o = ****; %Volume of air in cylinder when the air gun is "cocked" ( m^3 ) k = ****; %spring constant ( N/m ) x_s_f = ****; %compression of spring assembly after cocking ( m ) x_s_o = ****; %compression of spring assembly before cocking ( m ) barrel_length = ****; % ( m ) R_angle = atan(R*(pi*c)); %Twist angle of Rifling Formula -- Don’t Change Formula !!! %First solve the initial value problem using "ode45" tspan=[0,0.01];x0=[0;0]; %Time Span ( tspan ) may have to be increased or decreased for different models [t,x] = ode45(@problem_func,tspan,x0); x(:,1) = real((x(:,1) + ((x_s_f-x_s_o)-x(:,1)).*(x(:,1) >= (x_s_f-x_s_o))));x(:,2) = real(x(:,2)); %Make a plot for (t,x_p) plot(t,x(:,2)) xlabel(’t’) ylabel(’x_p’) title(’Position of Pellet in Barrel as a Function of Time’) shg pause %Next make a plot for (x_p,v_p) vel_s = real((x(:,1)<(x_s_f-x_s_o)).*(k.*(x_s_f - x(:,1)) - ( (pi.*r_piston^2.*P_o.*V_o) ./(V_o - pi.*r_piston.^2.*x(:,1) + (pi./4).*c.^2.*x(:,2)) ) + pi.*r_piston.^2.*P_o).*((t)./(m_s))); vel_p = real(sqrt( (SpringEnergy(x(:,1)) - BoreFriction(x(:,1),x(:,2)) - EnergyStoredInCompressedGas(x(:,1),x(:,2)) - (1./2).*m_s.*(max(vel_s)).^2 ) ./(m_p + 4.*I_p.*pi.^2.*R.^2))); figure plot(x(:,2),vel_p) xlabel(’x_p’) ylabel(’v_p’) title(’Velocity of Pellet in Barrel as a Function of Pellet Position in Barrel’) shg pause 14 %Next make a plot for (x_p,P(x_p)) Pres = ( (P_o.*V_o)./(V_o - pi.*r_piston.^2.*x(:,1) + (pi./4).*c.^2.*x(:,2)) ) - P_o; figure plot(x(:,2),Pres) xlabel(’x_p’) ylabel(’P(x_p)’) title(’Internal Pressure Within Spring-Air Pellet Gun as a Function of Pellet Position in Barrel’) shg %Find and display the muzzle velocity ( m/s ) [p8,p8s,p8mu] = polyfit(x(:,2),vel_p,8); muzzle_velocity = polyval(p8,barrel_length,p8s,p8mu) %Find and display the muzzle energy ( J ) muzzle_energy = (m_p + 4.*I_p.*pi.^2.*R.^2).*(muzzle_velocity).^2 %Find and display the Maximum Internal Pressure Within Spring-Air Pellet Gun ( Pa ) max_pressure = max(abs(Pres)) %sub-function Library for this file %Preliminary Functions function f1 = SpringEnergy(x_s) global m_p m_s r_piston c R f_e mu I_p g P_o V_o k x_s_f x_s_o R_angle; f1 = k.*(x_s_f.*x_s - (1./2).*x_s.^2); function f2 = SimpleGravitationalFriction(x_p) global m_p m_s r_piston c R f_e mu I_p g P_o V_o k x_s_f x_s_o R_angle; f2 = m_p.*g.*mu.*x_p; function f4 = LognitudinalRiflingFriction(x_s,x_p) global m_p m_s r_piston c R f_e mu I_p g P_o V_o k x_s_f x_s_o R_angle; f4 = (( (4.*I_p.*R.*pi.*mu.*P_o.*V_o)./(m_p.*c.*(cos(R_angle) + mu.*sin(R_angle))) ) .*log(V_o - pi.*r_piston.^2.*x_s + (1./4).*pi.*c.^2.*x_p) - ( (I_p.*R.*pi.^2.*mu.*c.*P_o.*x_p) ./(m_p.*(cos(R_angle) + mu*sin(R_angle))) )); function f5 = ElasticCompressionFriction(x_p) global m_p m_s r_piston c R f_e mu I_p g P_o V_o k x_s_f x_s_o R_angle; f5 = f_e.*mu.*x_p; function f6 = BoreFriction(x_s,x_p) global m_p m_s r_piston c R f_e mu I_p g P_o V_o k x_s_f x_s_o R_angle; f6 = SimpleGravitationalFriction(x_p) + ElasticCompressionFriction(x_p) + LognitudinalRiflingFriction(x_s,x_p); function f7 = EnergyStoredInCompressedGas(x_s,x_p) global m_p m_s r_piston c R f_e mu I_p g P_o V_o k x_s_f x_s_o R_angle; f7 = P_o.*(( (V_o.^2)./(V_o - pi.*r_piston.^2.*x_s + (pi./4).*c.^2.*x_p) ) - V_o - pi.*r_piston.^2.*x_s + (pi./4).*c.^2.*x_p); %Primary ODE system of two linear equations function function velocity = problem_func(t,x ) global m_p m_s r_piston c R f_e mu I_p g P_o V_o k x_s_f x_s_o R_angle; %Initialize for a system of ODEs velocity = zeros(2,1); %system of two first order ODEs velocity(1)=(x(1)<(x_s_f-x_s_o)).*(k.*(x_s_f - (x(1) + ((x_s_f-x_s_o)-x(1)).*(x(1) >= (x_s_f-x_s_o)))) - ( (pi.*r_piston^2.*P_o.*V_o)./(V_o - pi.*r_piston.^2.*(x(1) + ((x_s_f-x_s_o)-x(1)).*(x(1) >= (x_s_f-x_s_o))) + (pi./4).*c.^2.*x(2)) ) + pi.*r_piston.^2.*P_o).*((t)./(m_s)); velocity(2)=sqrt( (SpringEnergy((x(1) + ((x_s_f-x_s_o)-x(1)).*(x(1) >= (x_s_f-x_s_o)))) - BoreFriction((x(1) + ((x_s_f-x_s_o)-x(1)).*(x(1) >= (x_s_f-x_s_o))),x(2)) - EnergyStoredInCompressedGas((x(1) + ((x_s_f-x_s_o)-x(1)).*(x(1) >= (x_s_f-x_s_o))),x(2)) - (1./2).*m_s.*(max(velocity(1))).^2 ) ./(m_p + 4.*I_p.*pi.^2.*R.^2) ); --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 When run the program will display a graph similar to this one: This graphically shows the position of the pellet within the barrel of the springair pellet gun as a function of the time elapsed during the firing sequence measured in seconds. Please, note that once the pellet reaches the end of the barrel this graph is no longer valid since the pellet is no longer in a state of internal ballistics but rather a state of external ballistics. 16 Upon pressing the space bar a second graph will be displayed similar to this one: This graph shows the velocity of the pellet within the barrel as a function of the pellets position. Once again, the graph is only valid so long as the xp value has not exceeded the barrel length. Worthy of note is the fact that there is a specific ideal barrel length where muzzle velocity will be maximized. Any barrel shorter or longer then this value will result in less then optimum muzzle velocity. 17 Pressing the space bar once more will display the final graph: This clearly displays the internal gas pressure developed within the spring-air pellet gun as a function of the pellets position as it travels down the barrel – a point where the maximum pressure ”spikes” is clearly visible and will occur if the barrel is long enough. Finally the program will display the specific muzzle velocity, muzzle energy, and maximum internal pressure in the MATLAB command window and the program will terminate. 5 Compare Models Predictions to Real Life Data It is necessary to confirm the accuracy of the mathematical model which was built. To this end two of my personal spring-air pellet guns were pressed into service. These are the two spring-air pellet guns in question: 18 Both are sold by the Cummins Tool Corporation and are among the best deals available on the market for the last ten plus years. They are both quality, medium power, spring-air pellet guns capable of generating muzzle velocities in excess of a hundred meters per second. The rifle is about ten years old and has been fired literally thousands of times – it is not worn out but rather worn in. Most quality spring-air pellet guns get more accurate with use – this allows the individual components of the mechanism to wear to fit each other and provide very stable ballistics. The pistol is almost brand new and has been fired only a few hundred times. It is not yet broken in and still displays ”bouncy” ballistics with a fairly wide velocity spread of ± 20 meters between individual shots. For comparison the rifle usually maintains a spread of less then ± 1 meter per second with the same box of pellets. Obtaining that small of a velocity spread in a cartridge firearm is practically impossible even with special hand-made match grade ammunition. First, a variety of different pellets of appropriate caliber were obtained and the specific physical characteristics of each style of pellet was quantified and tabulated. The force of elastic compression ( FE.C. ) was determined by driving each pellet about twenty centimeters deep inside the bore then inserting a cleaning rod with a cup affixed atop it. This cup was then progressively loaded with lead shot until the pellet moved. The total weight of the pellet, cleaning rod, cup, and lead shot were then divided by the appropriate coefficient of static friction. Mass of the pellet was determined with a very precise reloading scale and the mass moment of inertia was approximated via direct calculation according to the formula, Ip = kmp (c/2)2 . The k value was intelligently estimated according to the individual mass distribution of each pellet: 19 The next step involved determining the average specific muzzle velocities of each pellet/gun combination through the use of a tool know as a ”Chronograph” which measures the velocity of a speeding bullet coming out the barrel of a gun with single digit accuracy. For the rifle a series of ten velocity measurements were taken about a meter from the muzzle for each pellet and the average velocity was calculated and rounded off to the ones place. For the pistol ten velocity measurements a meter from the barrel were also taken, but the average velocity was rounded off to the nearest five meters per second due to the fact that this gun developed such a wide velocity spread from shot to shot. As previously outlined this is due to the fact that it has not yet been broken in. Next, the pellet guns were completely disassembled and the necessary physical information about their internal design was quantified and tabulated: Finally, the necessary information was input into the mathematical model and the percent deviation of the model from reality was quantified: 6 Conclusion / Discussion Ultimately this mathematical model proved to be even more accurate then I thought it would be. The final mathematical model was found to accurately predict real world results within a margin of error of ± 1.8 % and ± 20 % in the two specific initial test cases involving the spring-air pellet rifle and the spring-air pellet pistol respectively. I suspected that since the model does not take into account compressed air leakage from the internal workings during 20 the firing sequence that the model would consistently yield results that were in excess of real world performance, however, this does not appear to be the case. The error values appear to be balanced both slightly above and below the actual real world values. Due to how quickly the firing sequence takes place (less then a hundredth of a second) any such leakage from a spring-air pellet gun with reasonably good seals must be a nominal factor. Although the equations are complex they are rooted in the most basic principles of physics. With the possible exception of the bore friction formula it is all senior year, high-school level physics. Calculating a solution, however, takes some pretty strong math. Not only is a working knowledge of Ordinary Differential Equations required, but math logic analysis is necessary to properly limit both the position and velocity of the spring piston and, thus, properly solve the ODE system. With a little bit of tweaking the included MATLAB M-file could be built into a graphical interface computer program that would serve very well in an industrial design environment for this specific sector of the firearms industry. 21 7 Bibliography Beichner, Robert J., Jewett, John W. Jr., and Serway, Raymond A. Physics For Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics. 5th ed. Orlando, FL: Saunders College Publishing, 2000. Pytel, Andrew and Kiusalaas, Jaan. Engineering Mechanics Dynamics. 2nd ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company 1999. Oerlikon Pocket Book. Oerlikon-Zrich, Switzerland: Oerlikon Machine Tool Works, 1958. 22