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A THERMODYNAMIC MODEL FOR INTERIOR BALLISTICS OF AN AMPHIBIOUS

RIFLE

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Journal of Science and Technique - N.209 (7-2020) - Le Quy Don Technical University

A THERMODYNAMIC MODEL FOR INTERIOR BALLISTICS

OF AN AMPHIBIOUS RIFLE

Nguyen Van Hung*, Dao Van Doan, Nguyen Van Dung, Do Duc Linh
Le Quy Don Technical University
Abstract
The article focuses on the establishment of a mathematical model for the interior ballistic of
an amphibious rifle using a thermodynamic approach. The object of this paper is the
amphibious rifle based on the operation of gas-operated weapons. The interior ballistic
model was applied to the 5.56 mm amphibious rifle according to the designing of the
research project of the ministry of defense and it was solved by using MATLAB
environment. The computed results are compared and validated with the measured muzzle
velocity by three types of equipment systems in case of shooting in the air.

Keywords: Gas-operated weapons; amphibious rifle; thermodynamic; interior ballistic; muzzle velocity.

1. Introduction
In recent years, many countries are interested in research of different types of
amphibious rifles, such as the 5.45 mm ASM-DT and ADS rifles of Russia,
5.8 mm QBS-6 of China [1]. The principle of operation of amphibious rifles is based on
the operation of gas-operated weapons but it is necessary to reduce the resistance of
water for use in two environments: water and the air.
In the design process of an amphibious rifle, the study on interior ballistics with
the gas block is a very important problem and various approaches have been proposed
to solve this issue [2, 3, 4, 5]. However, most of the previous works using the theory of
conventional ballistics does not solve the interior ballistics in the barrel bore and the
thermodynamics problem in the gas chamber of the gas block at one time. Moreover, in
order to solve the interior ballistics of amphibious rifles, the previous authors used two
different models. When fired in the air, using the model of conventional ballistic for
gas-operated guns. When shooting underwater, using the model of underwater interior
ballistics. Therefore, there should be a new model combining both cases with different
shooting environments. At the same time, this model must combine the interior
ballistics in the bore with the thermodynamic problem in the gas chamber of the gas
block.

*
Email: hungnv_mta@mta.edu.vn
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 Tạp chí Khoa học và Kỹ thuật - Số 209 (7-2020) - Học viện KTQS

To solve this problem, the paper presents a mathematical model of the interior
ballistics of the amphibious rifle based on the theory of thermodynamics. Besides, this
mathematical model has been validated and experimentally verified.
2. Thermodynamic model of amphibious rifle
2.1. Assumptions
The thermodynamic model of an amphibious rifle is built based on the
following assumptions:
- The amphibious rifle is an open thermodynamic system.
- The heat exchange occurs only between the propellant gas and the walls of the
working chamber. The temperature of the chamber walls is assumed to be constant.
- No temperature drops along the gas port and gas cylinder.
- Ignoring the unburnt propellant and drug particles in the gas flow.
2.2. Description of the model
The scheme of the thermodynamic model shown in the Fig. 1 consists of five
chambers: Chamber 1 is the bore behind projectile; Chamber 2 is the gas chamber of
gas device; Chamber 3 is the bore forward projectile; Chamber 4 is the space behind
piston and Chamber 5 is the environment (air or water).

5
2 5
m1 4 m12

1 3

5
Unburnt propellant

Fig. 1. Schematic of the thermodynamic model of amphibious rifle

Notation and nomenclature used in this article are as follows: Qi is the amount
of heat supplied to the chamber i; U i is the internal energy of chamber i; ui is
the specific internal energy of chamber i; Wi is the work done by chamber i; hi is the
specific enthalpy of chamber i; pi , Ti , Vi , mi are the pressure, temperature, volume and
mass of gas in the chamber i; mij is the mass flow rate of gas between the chamber i and
chamber j; i, j are the indication of the chamber and i, j = 1 ÷ 5.

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Journal of Science and Technique - N.209 (7-2020) - Le Quy Don Technical University

2.3. Thermodynamics gas in the barrel bore

By applying the First Law of Thermodynamics for the open thermodynamic
system [6], we can obtain equations for the energy conservation for the chamber 1
dQ1 n dH1i dU1 dW1
   (1)
dt i 0 dt dt dt
n
dH1i
where 
i 0 dt
is the enthalpy rate of chamber 1 that is calculated as below:
n
dH1i

i 0 dt
 m1h  m12 h1  m15 h1  m13h1 (2)

In the formula above, h  C pTv and h1  C pT1 are the specific enthalpies; m1 is the mass
flow rate of gas generated by burning propellant; m12 is the mass flow rate of gas
between the chamber 1 and chamber 2 when projectile moving through the muzzle;
C p is the specific heat at constant pressure; Tv is the burning temperature of propellant.
The internal energy time change of chamber 1 in Eq. (1) is given by
dU1 d  u1m1  du dm
  m1 1  u1 1 (3)
dt dt dt dt
U1
where the specific internal energy of chamber 1 and its value is given by u1   CV T1
m1
The volume boundary work that pushes the projectile to move is determined by the
change of volume V1 as
dW1 dV
 p1 1 (4)
dt dt
By replacing Eq. (2), (3), (4) into Eq. (1), we obtain
dQ1
 m1C p Tv  m12 C p .T1  m15 C pT1  m13C pT1 
dt (5)
dT dm dV
 m1 Cv 1  Cv T1 1  p1 1
dt dt dt
* Determination of the mass flow rate of gas generated by burning propellant m1
The mass flow rate of gas generated by burning propellant is:
 d
m1  
 dt (6)
  tV
where  is the mass of powder charge; t is the powder density; V is the volume of powder.
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dV
In Eq. (6), is calculated according to the reference [7]:
dt
 dV p1
 dt  V0    z   I
 k (7)
  z    k  2k z  3k z 2 
 1 2 3

where V0 is the initial volume of powder; z is the relative thickness of burnt powder;
I k is the total pressure impulse.
By introducing Eq. (6) to Eq. (7) and by rearranging them, we obtain:
f  p f  p
m1    V0    z    0    z   (8)
Ik Ik
* Determination of the mass flow rates of gas m12 , m13 , m15 :
Considering the general case, the gas flow from chamber i to the chamber j
(see Fig. 2). In particular, the parameters in the chamber i include: the specific volume
vi ; the pressure pi ; the specific enthalpy hi ; the temperature Ti . And the parameters in
chamber j include the specific volume v j ; the pressure p j ; the specific enthalpy h j ; the
temperature T j .

vi , pi , hi , Ti v j , p j , hj , Tj

i j

Fig. 2. Schematic of the gas flow from chamber i to the chamber j

According to reference [8], the mass flow rates of gas mij from chamber i to the
chamber j is:
Aij  vij
mij  ij  (9)
vi
where Aij is the cross-sectional area of discharge orifice; ij is the discharge coefficient
and it depends on the parameters of the orifice and the Reynolds number of the flow.
The discharge coefficient is determined by the experiment [9]. vij is the discharge gas
velocity calculated according to reference [10]:

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Journal of Science and Technique - N.209 (7-2020) - Le Quy Don Technical University

 
vij  min  2C p Ti  T j  ; i   RT * 
v
(10)
 vi   
 *  2 
T  Ti  
   1
where  and  is the co-volume coefficient of the gas.
C
  p

 Cv
dT
* Establishment of the equation for gas temperature in the barrel bore 1 :
dt
According to the model as Fig. 2 we have:
 dm1
 dt  m1   m12  m15  m13 
 (11)
 dV d  x S 
1
 d d
 vd Sd
 dt dt
where S d is the cross-section of the barrel bore; vd is the velocity of the projectile; xd
is the distance of projectile movement inside the barrel.
By substitution of Eq. (11) into Eq. (5) and performing differentiation, one obtains
dT1 1  dQ1 1 pv S 
   m1  Tv  T1     1  m12  m15  m13  T1  1 d d  (12)
dt m1  dt Cv Cv 
Equation (12) shows all the components of the thermodynamic system open in barrel
chamber 1:
dQ1 1
is the heat exchange with chamber 1; m1  Tv  T1  is the heat of gas is
dt Cv
generated by burning propellant;   1 m12  m15  m13  T1 is the total heat losses (due to
the gas flow into gas chamber of the gas block, gas discharge into the environment and gas
pv S
discharge through the gap between the projectile and barrel bore); 1 d d is due to the
Cv
dQ1
work to push the projectile moving; is the heat losses from gas to barrel wall and it is
dt
calculated according to the reference [11]:
dQ1 d   1 T 
   T T1  Ttn dF   A T F 1  tn  p1 (13)
dt dt  F  R  T 1 

where  T is the thermal diffusivity; Ttn is the temperature of the inside surface of the barrel
bore; F is the area of the contact surface between gas and barrel bore;  T is the thermal

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conductivity; A is the experimental coefficient.

Combining Eq. (10), Eq. (11), Eq. (12), Eq. (13) we have the differential equations of
the thermodynamics in the barrel bore as Eq. (14):

 dT1 1  dQ1 1 p1vd S d 
 dt  m  dt C  m1   Tv  T1      1  m12  m15  m13  T1  C 
1  
 v v
 dQ 1 T 
 1  A T F 1  tn  p1
 dt R T1 
 dm
 1  m1   m12  m15  m13 
 dt
 dV
 1  vd S d
 dt
 V
v1  1
 m1
 RT1
 p1 
 v1  

 f  p
m1  0    z   (14)
 Ik
 A v
m12  12  12 12
 v1
 A v
m15  15  15 15
 v1

m    A13  v13
 13 13
v1

  v1 *
v12  min  2C p T1  T2  ; v     RT1 
  1 
  v 
v15  min  2C p T1  T5  ; 1   RT5* 
  v1   

v  min  2C T  T  ; v1   RT * 
 13  3 
v1  
p 1 3
  
2.4. The gas thermodynamics in the chamber of the gas block
The method to establish the differential equations of the gas thermodynamics in the
gas chamber of the gas block is similar to that in the barrel bore. By applying the First Law
of Thermodynamics for the gas chamber (chamber 2 – Fig. 3) we obtain (Eq. (15)):
dQ2 n dH 2i dU 2 dW2
   (15)
dt i 0 dt dt dt
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Journal of Science and Technique - N.209 (7-2020) - Le Quy Don Technical University

By applying a similar process used to develop the internal ballistic model of the
barrel bore, we obtain a system of differential equations describing the thermodynamic
phenomena taking place in the gas chamber of the gas block as shown in Eq. (16).

5 m24

m12
m25 4 5
5

Fig. 3. Schematic of the thermodynamic model of the gas chamber of the gas block
 dT2 1  dQ2 1 p2 v p S p 
    m12   T1  T2      1  m24  m25  T2  
 dt m2  dt Cv Cv 

 dQ2  A F 1 1  Ttp  p
  2
 dt R  T2 
T p

 dm2
  m12   m24  m25 
 dt
 dV2
 dt  v p S p

v  V2
 2 m
 2
 RT2
 p2  v  
 2
 A v (16)
m12  12  12 12
 v1

m24  24  A24  v24
 v2

m    A25  v25
 25 25
v2

  v1 
v12  min  2C p T1  T2  ;   RT1* 
  v1   
  v 
v24  min  2C p T2  T4  ; 2   RT2* 
  v2   

  v2 *
v25  min  2C p T2  T5  ; v     RT2 
  2 

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3. Interior ballistics of amphibious rifle

Combining the differential equations of the thermodynamics gas in barrel bore,
the thermodynamics gas in the gas chamber of the gas block, and the moving equation
of the projectile in the barrel bore, we obtain the differential equations of the interior
ballistics of amphibious rifle.
3.1. Interior ballistics of amphibious rifle when shooting underwater
In order to apply Eq. (16) for the case of shooting underwater, the following
characteristics are noted:
- When shooting underwater, the cutting phenomenon of ammo belt does not appear,
but the plastic sabot is cut into the grooves of bore barrel (Fig. 4). So m13  0 .

Fig. 4. Cross-section of the bore barrel

- The parameters of chamber 3 and chamber 5 are defined by the characteristics of water.
- The temperature of the bore wall and chamber 5 (water) is the same.
The moving equation of the projectile in the barrel bore when shooting underwater is
given in the reference [5]:
 dvd S d pa  D
 
 dt mt
 (17)
 dl  v

 dt
d

where the total drag D acting on the nose of the underwater projectile when moving in
the barrel bore is given by
 1 1 
D   patm  n gh  Sd  n vd2 Sd  C f n vd2 d  lb  ld  l   (18)
 2 2 
 n is the water density; lb is the distance of projectile movement inside the barrel; ld is the
length of the underwater projectile; l is the displacement of the projectile inside the barrel;
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Journal of Science and Technique - N.209 (7-2020) - Le Quy Don Technical University

patm is the atmospheric pressure; g is the acceleration of gravity; h is the depth of firing;
d is the diameter of the bore; C f is the skin friction coefficient. It depends on the
Reynolds number Re and it is calculated according to relations introduced in Table 1 [12];
mt is the total mass of the projectile and the water in the barrel bore ahead of the projectile;

mt  md  n Sd  lb  l p  l  (19)

md is the projectile mass; pa is the pressure at the projectile bottom and its value is
calculated by the following formula:
1 D
p1 
3 mt Sd
pa  (20)
1
1
3 mt
 is the mass of powder charge.
Thus, the system of differential equations of the interior ballistics of amphibious
rifle when shooting underwater includes Eq. (14), Eq. (16), Eq. (17), Eq. (18),
Eq. (19), and Eq. (20).
3.2. Interior ballistics of an amphibious rifle when shooting in the air
When shooting in the air, because of the cutting of ammo belt, so m13  0 . Besides,
the moving equation of the projectile in the barrel bore is given in reference [7]:
 dvd Sp1
 dt   1
 md  1  
  3q (21)

 dl  vd
 dt
where q is the weight of projectile; 1 is coefficient and 1  1.10 for an amphibious
rifle; S is the cross-section of the barrel bore and it can be calculated as

 4a  tn tn2   2
S  1     d (22)
4  a  b  d d 2  

where t n is the depth of groove; a is the length of land; b is the length of the groove.
Hence, while shooting in air, the system of differential equations describing the
interior ballistics of amphibious rifle includes Eq. (14), Eq. (16), and Eq. (21).

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4. Calculation results
The interior ballistic model above is applied for the 5.56 x 45 mm NATO shooting
from the 5.56 mm amphibious rifle in the air. In order to validate the ballistic model, it
is solved using different input parameters (i.e. different barrel lengths and distances of
gas block from the bore chamber). The main input data and the parameters of the 5.56 x
45 mm NATO ammo, the 5.56 mm amphibious rifle are shown in Tab.1.
Tab. 1. The main input parameters for the solution
5.56 x45 mm NATO ammo 5.56 mm amphibious rifle
Parameters Value Parameters Value
Initial volume of charge chamber (m ) 1.727x10-6
3
Caliber of gun (m) 5.56x10-3
Mass of powder (kg) 1.72x10-3 Type F.I 376x10-3
Length of barrel (m)
Mass of projectile (kg) 4x10-3 Type F.II 361x10-3
No.1 6x10-6
Cross-sectional area of Type
No.2 10x10-6
discharge orifice between F.I
Atmospheric pressure (Pa) 101325 No.3 11x10-6
gas chamber of gas block
2
and bore barrel (m ) Type No.1 4.8x10-6
F.II No.2 12.9x10-6
Distance of gas block Type F.I 252x10-3
from bore chamber (m) Type F.II 200x10-3
Diameter of piston (m) 13.937x10-3
Inner diameter of gas chamber of gas block (m) 14.015x10-3
Diameter of discharge hole on the gas block (m) 2.0x10-3
The 5.56 mm amphibious ammunition used for analyzing in this study includes two
types: Type F.I and Type F.II. The barrel length of type F.I is 376 mm and the regulator
of the gas device of it have three modes as No.1, No.2, and No.3 (Fig. 5). While, the
barrel length of type F.I is 361 mm and the regulator in the gas device of it has two modes
as No.1, No.2.

Fig. 5. Regulator of the gas device of the 5.56 mm amphibious type F.I
The mathematical model described above has been solved by numerical integration
using the MATLAB code by the explicit fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. Results of the
solution for the two types of the 5.56 mm amphibious ammunition shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7.
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Journal of Science and Technique - N.209 (7-2020) - Le Quy Don Technical University

Bore barrel

Chamber of gas block

Bore barrel

Chamber of gas block

Bore barrel

Chamber of gas block

Fig. 6. Calculation results for the 5.56 mm amphibious type F.I

These results indicate the influence of the cross-sectional area of discharge orifice
between the gas chamber of the gas block and bore barrel on the pressure, the
temperature, the mass of gas in bore barrel, in the chamber of the gas block and the
velocity of the projectile. From Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 we can see that the muzzle velocity is not
sensitive to the change in the cross-sectional area of discharge orifice. The muzzle
velocity corresponding to two types F.I and F.II are 874 m/s and 861.5 m/s.
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Bore barrel

Chamber of gas block

Bore barrel

Chamber of gas block

Bore barrel

Chamber of gas block

Fig. 7. Calculation results for the 5.56 mm amphibious type F.II

5. Validation and verification
Calculation results of the muzzle velocity are compared with the measured values.
Experiments were held in the Weapon Technology Center of the Le Quy Don Technical
University in Hanoi and the Z111 Factory in Thanh Hoa City. The photograph of two
types of the 5.56 mm amphibious is shown in Fig.8. The schematic of the experimental
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Journal of Science and Technique - N.209 (7-2020) - Le Quy Don Technical University

setup is shown in Fig. 9. In order to measure the muzzle velocity, this experiment used
three types of equipment systems: POTSS-2011 target scoring system, DRS-1 Doppler
radar system, and the model 36 chronograph system.

Type F.I Type F.II

Fig. 8. The photograph of two types of the 5.56 mm amphibious

The comparison of calculated and measured values of muzzle velocity is shown in
Table 2. The maximum difference between the experiment and the calculation is 1.47%.
This difference showed that the mathematical model is reliable.

POTSS-2011 target Model 36

scoring system chronograph system

DRS-1 Doppler
radar system

Fig. 9. The photograph of the Schematic of the experimental setup

Tab. 2. Comparison of calculated and measured values of muzzle velocity

Measured value by the Measured value by the Measured value by the Calculated
Type of the POTSS-2011 target DRS-1 Doppler radar model36 chronograph muzzle
5.56 mm scoring system system system velocity
amphibious Measured Measured Measured
Difference Difference Difference
value value value

F.I 861.4 m/s 1.44% 860.9 m/s 1.5% 861.2 m/s 1.47% 874 m/s

F.II 849.2 m/s 1.43% 848.5 m/s 1.51% 848.8 m/s 1.47% 861.5 m/s

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6. Conclusion
In this paper, the mathematical model of interior ballistics of amphibious rifle has
been established by the thermodynamic approach. The model was validated for the
5.56 mm amphibious rifle when shooting in the air. The reliability of the model was
experimentally verified by three types of equipment systems.
This research has some limitations. It has only experimentally investigated the
muzzle velocity when shooting in the air. Nevertheless, we believe our study could be a
starting point and the new method to approach the interior ballistic of the amphibious
rifle. Future research will focus on shooting underwater. We gratefully acknowledge the
support of the research project of the ministry of defense 2017.74.03.
References
1. Russia Unveils Amphibious Assault Rifle, Popular Science, 2013.
2. Đào Văn Đoan, Nguyễn Văn Hưng (2014). Xây dựng mô hình tính toán thuật phóng
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 Journal of Science and Technique - N.209 (7-2020) - Le Quy Don Technical University

MỘT MÔ HÌNH NHIỆT ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC CHO

THUẬT PHÓNG TRONG SÚNG BẮN HAI MÔI TRƯỜNG
Tóm tắt: Bài báo tập trung xây dựng mô hình toán học mô tả thuật phóng trong súng bắn hai
môi trường bằng phương pháp tiếp cận nhiệt động lực học. Đối tượng nghiên cứu của bài báo là
súng bắn hai môi trường hoạt động theo nguyên lý trích khí. Mô hình thuật phóng trong này được
áp dụng đối với súng bắn hai môi trường cỡ 5,56 mm theo thiết kế của đề tài cấp Bộ Quốc phòng và
giải bằng phần mềm Matlab. Giá trị sơ tốc trong trường hợp bắn trong không khí theo tính toán
lý thuyết được so sánh và đánh giá với kết quả thực nghiệm thông qua ba hệ thống đo khác nhau.
Từ khóa: Súng trích khí; súng bắn hai môi trường; nhiệt động lực học; thuật phóng
trong; sơ tốc.

Accepted for publication: 2020

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