Experimental study on directed loading metal particles of low collateral damage ammunition

In this work, to realize explosive directed loading metal particles of low collateral damage ammunition, we developed a launching device and used it to carry out the dispersing of tungsten particles of different sizes and charging ratios. We captured the dispersion attitude and velocity of tungsten particles using high speed photography and high speed infrared photography, and demonstrated the three dimensional spatial distribution of tungsten particles inside the soap target using computerized tomography and three dimensional reconstruction. The results revealed the three phases of detonation-driven particles, i.e. acceleration, deceleration, and scattering. For particles of different sizes, the average velocity ranged from 689.84 m/s to 889.14 m/s, and the maximum penetrating depth ranged from 65.23 mm to 167.35 mm. The launching device was observed to perform well at directed loading metal particles with a rate of over 30% in hitting the target. We adjusted the mass ratio of the charge to the particles to meet various experimental requirements and improved the analysis accuracy of terminal ballistics parameters using the CT image reconstruction technique. Our study here can serve as a useful technique for further investigation of the damage effects, wounding mechanism, injury evaluation and treatment of low collateral damage ammunition.