The M734 Multi-Option Fuze(Www .Notesok .In - For More Notes - Www.Notes Ok .

In) Shown In Figure 1 Is A Rangefinder And Collision Detection System Used On 60mm,
81mm, And 120mm Mortar Shells As A Trigger To Detonate The Shells At The Most
Damaging Heights Of Burst When Combating Four Types Of Battlefield Threats:
o The Rangefinder Electronics (Figure 2) Is A Doppler Radar Using FMCW
Technology To Emit A Radar Signal And Can Be Set To Trigger Two Types Of
Air-Bursts, One Being A Near Surface Burst To Combat Standing Targets And
The Other Being A Higher Proximity Burst Downward Onto Prone Or Fox
Holed Targets.
o The Collision Detection Portion Of The Fuze Consists Of Two Mechanical
Devices, One Being A Quick Response Electric Inertial Switch For A Burst
Upon Impact With A Target, Such As A Vehicle, And Another Being A Slow
Response Mechanical Detonator That Allows Shell Penetration, Such As
Through A Forest Canopy, Before Detonating.
This Integration Of Four Functions Into A Single Fuze Reduces The Logistics And Cost
To Support Mortar Crews On The Battlefield.
Settings
A Typical Mortar Firing Procedure Is For A Squad Leader To Select A Target And Call
For One Of The Four Fuze Settings. A Gunner Sights The Mortar Onto The Target And
An Ammunition Bearer Sets The Fuze. An Assistant Gunner Drops The Shell Into The
Tube Upon A Command To Fire From The Squad Leader.
Tools Are Not Required To Install Or Set The Fuze. It Is Adjusted By Hand, Even With
Arctic Mittens, Simply By Rotating The Top Of The Fuze Clockwise Until A 3-Letter
Engraving Is Above An Index Line. Additionally, The Setting Can Be Changed Any
Number Of Times Without Causing Damage To The Fuze. The Four Engravings Around
The Circumference Of Metal Housing Of The Fuze Have The Following Meanings For
Detonation Height:
1 PRX = Proximity Air Burst Between 3 And 13 Feet
2 NSB = Near Surface Burst Between 0 And 3 Feet
3 IMP = Impact Burst On Contact. ( In The Event An IMP Setting Fails, Detonation
Is 1/2 Seconds After Impact. )
4 DLY = Delay After Impact Of 0.05 Seconds In The Fuze Explosive Train Before
The Shell Detonates.
In All Four Settings, The High Explosive In The Mortar Shell Is Detonated By A
Cascading Explosive Train Of 4 Increasing Energies Within The Fuze. These Are The
Microdet Electric Detonator, The Explosive Lead, The Explosive Booster, And The Delay
Primer Assembly (Figure 3) Functioning As Follows:
o In The PROX, NSB, And IMP Fuze Settings, A Firing Circuit Applies A
Voltage To The Small Microdet Which Faces And Ignites A Bigger Explosive

Lead That Channels Into The Explosive Booster Which Initiates The Shell's
High Explosive.
o In The DLY Setting, The Explosive Lead Is Initiated Instead By The Delay
Primer Assembly, Which Operates Even In The Event Of Power Supply Or
Electronics Failures.
o Reliability Against Duds Is Increased By The Fact That If The M734 Fails
To Detonate The Mortar Shell At One Setting, It Will Immediately And
Automatically Use The Next One Along, I.E. Failure At The PRX Setting
Causes NSB Detonation To Be Selected. Similarly, Failure To Detonate At
The NSB Setting Would Automatically Cause IMP To Be Selected, And So
On.
o This Redundancy Is A Safety Factor Designed Into The Fuze To Prevent
Malfunctioning Mortar Shells From Being Buried Upon Ground Impact And
Becoming A Risk To Civilians After A Battle Or Becoming Ammunition For
Terrorist Activities.
Safety
Fuzes Assembled By The Manufacturer Are Preset To PRX And Stockpiled On Mortar
Shells For Immediate Use. The Fuze Is Safe To Handle, However, Because The Two
Detonators Are Mounted In A Safety And Arming (S&A) Assembly That Holds Them
180 Degrees Out Of Alignment With The Explosive Lead And Booster (Figure 3). The
Events Required To Rotate The Explosive Train Into Alignment And Generate Power For
The Fuze Electronics Cannot Be Accomplished By Accident Or Deliberately By A Vandal
Because Three Actions Difficult To Simulate Must Be Applied In Rapid Succession:
5 An Axial Acceleration Pulse Similar To The Launch Inside A Mortar Tube.
6 Air Flow Through The Nose Cone Air-Inlet And Air-Outlet (Figure 3) That Is
Similar To Flight.
7 Motion That Resembles The Trajectory Of A Mortar Shell In Flight (On The
Product Improved M734A1 Fuze).
Axial Acceleration And Wind Stream Forces Combine To Arm The Fuze 100 Meters Or
More From The Launcher. This Mechanical Arming Is Accomplished By A Torsion
Spring Rotating The Detonators 180 Degrees Into An Explosive Train Alignment As
Soon As The Spring Is Unlocked By The Acceleration Forces Depressing A Zig-Zag
Setback Device (Figure 3) And The Wind Stream Forces Unscrewing A Jackscrew
(Figure 4) Locking Device.
This Delay In Mechanical Arming After Two Independent Features Of Gunfire Is A Basic
Safety Requirement Called "Dual-Safing." An Unprecedented Third Safety Factor
Incorporated As A Product Improvement In The M734A1 Fuze Was To Delay The
Electrical Arming Of The PROX, NSB, And IMP Settings Beyond 100 Meters Out To
The Highest Point Of Mortar Flight (Apex).
o

This Electrical Arming Is Simply The Energizing Of The Firing Circuit To

The Microdet Used By All Three Fuze Settings.

o Since The Apex Varies With Each Type Of Mortar, The Firing Angle, And
The Amount Of Propellant, A Microprocessor In The Fuze Is Used To
Calculate The Time Remaining After Launch To Reach Peak Height. This Is
Accomplished By Monitoring In Real Time The Frequencies Of The Doppler
Radar And The Wind Driven Power Supply (Turbine Alternator Assembly In
Figure 3) And Comparing To A Data Bank In Memory.
Power Supply
The Wind Stream In Flight Provides Both The Mechanical Power Needed To Arm The
S&A And The Electrical Power Needed For The Fuze Electronics. Figure 5 Shows The
System Of Components Used In The M734 To Capture And Regulate Air Flow Within
The Fuze And Convert A Portion Of The Air Power To Mechanical And Electrical Power
Before Exiting The Fuze.
o In This System, The Air Inlet Directs The Wind Stream Into A
Converging-Diverging Nozzle (Venturi Tube) That Limits The Mass Flow
Rate (Choked Flow).
o The Axial Flow Then Rams The Center Of A Flat Impeller (Figure 6) And
Flows Radially Through The Blades. The Curvature Of The Blades
Continuously Redirects The Flow And The Net Pressure On The Concave
Surface Area Generates A Torque That Rotates A Drive Shaft.
o The Drive Shaft Is Permanently Connected To An Alternating Current
Generator Called The Turbine Alternator Assembly Whose Operating
Principles Resemble An Automobile Belt-Driven Alternator Miniaturized To
Provide 20 Volts And Withstand An Acceleration Of 20,000g.
o The Drive Shaft Is Also Engaged With The S&A Mechanism (Figure 4) At
The Time Of Launch, But Disengages After A Specific Number Of Shaft
Revolutions. This Action Unscrews A Jackscrew Locking Device And Enables
The Explosive Train To Snap Into Alignment, Thereby Completing The
Second Step In Mechanical Arming.
Since Arming Is Required To Occur After A Flight Of 100 Meters For Three Mortars That
Have A Wide Range In Launch Velocities, The RPM That Releases The Jackscrew At The
Slowest Launch Velocity Must Increase In Direct Proportion To Any Increase In Launch
Velocity. The Turbine, However, Will Tend To Spin Faster Than Desired, So, To Prevent
Early Arming, Three Governors Are Used To Reduce The Spin:
o First, The Number, Size, And Curvature Of The Turbine Blades Is
Designed To Achieve Arming At 100 Meters Or More For The Lowest Launch
Velocity Of 45 M/S.
o Second, The Venturi Tube Is Designed To Limit The Mass Flow Rate Of
Air Available To Propel The Turbine.
o Third, The Tips Of The Turbine Blades Are Undercut To Introduce A
Flexibility That Allows Centrifugal Force To Bend The Tips Outward (Figure

7). This Decreases The Effective Blade Curvature, Which Lowers The Surface
Pressure On The Blade And The Turbine Spins Slower Than With An
Inflexible Blade. By Undercutting Deep Enough, The Jackscrew Drive Shaft
Rotation Is Slow Enough At All Launch Velocities To Assure Arming Is
Beyond The Minimum 100 Meters.
Once The Air Flows From The Tips, The Air Outlet Directs The Exhaust Into The
Atmosphere At An Angle Oblique To The External Wind Stream. The Resulting
Turbulence Degrades The Accuracy Of Flight Toward The Target, So The Exhaust Is
Directed Onto A Vertical Metal Fin That Guides The Flow Into The External Wind
Stream.
A Noteworthy Point Is That The Performance Of The Turbine Alternator Is Unaffected If
The Mortar Shell Encounters A Tropical Rainstorm While En Route To The Target.