Patent EA-000475-B1 (EA)
Title: Cartridge (variants)
Inventor: TIDMAN DEREC A
IPC: F42B5/16
Filed: 1996-02-01
Abstract: 1. A cartridge comprising a housing carrying a projectile, the housing including: a sealed container means including: a mixture comprising an oxidizer gas and helium gas at a pressure of at least several hundred atmospheres, a fuel having molecules including hydrogen atoms, a solid propellant, a front wall means separating the mixture from the projectile and bursting in response to ignition. 2. The cartridge of Claim 1, wherein the sealed container means includes the propellant and piston means positioned between the propellant and gas in a forward portion of the sealed container means, the propellant when ignited generating combusting gas behind the piston means to drive the piston means forward and to increase the pressure on the combusting gas in the forward portion of the sealed container means and cause high pressure gas initially in the sealed container means to be supplied to the projectile considerably prior to gas resulting from combustion of the solid propellant. 3. The cartridge of Claim 2, wherein the gas in the mixture in the sealed container means has a relatively low energy density below about 7 kilojoules per gram. 4. The cartridge of Claim 2, wherein the piston means includes openings so the gas is resident on both sides thereof. 5. The cartridge of Claim 4, wherein the solid propellant comprises multiple rods surrounded by the gas in the sealed container. 6. The cartridge of Claim 5, wherein the rods are elongated in a direction of the piston means. 7. The cartridge of Claim 1, wherein the sealed container means includes plural nested sealed containers, some including helium and an oxidizer gas at pressures at least several hundred atmospheres and others including fuel at pressures approximately equal to the pressure in said some containers, the nested sealed containers and the propellant being positioned and arranged so ends of the sealed containers proximate the projectile and included in the front wall means are ruptured and gas from the plural containers is mixed and ignited behind the projectile in response to increased gas pressure produced in the plural sealed containers in response to ignition of the propellant. 8. The cartridge of Claim 7, wherein the sealed containers include the propellant therein. 9. The cartridge of Claim 8, wherein the sealed containers include a piston therein, each of the pistons being positioned between the propellant and gas in a forward portion of the particular sealed container, the propellant in the particular sealed container when ignited generating gas behind the piston in the particular sealed container to drive the piston in the particular sealed container forward and to increase the pressure on the gas in the forward portion of the particular sealed container. 10. The cartridge of Claim 9, wherein the pistons include openings. 11. The cartridge of Claim 7, wherein the helium and oxygen in said some sealed containers have mole fractions such that the resulting mixture has a relatively high energy density of about 10 kilojoules/gram. 12. The cartridge of Claim 7, wherein each of the sealed containers includes the propellant therein. 13. The cartridge of Claim 9, wherein each of the sealed containers includes a piston therein, each of the pistons being positioned between the propel lane and gas in a forward portion of the particular sealed container, the propellant in the particular sealed container when ignited generating gas behind the piston in the particular sealed container to drive the piston in the particular sealed container forward and to increase the pressure on the gas in the forward portion of the particular sealed container. 14. A cartridge comprising a housing carrying a projectile, the housing including: a sealed container means including a first combustible gas at a pressure of at least several hundred atmospheres, a fluid reactant sealed to a pressure of at least several atmospheres, the gas including at least 50% by mole fraction of hydrogen or helium, a solid propellant, diaphragm means between the sealed container means and the projectile and bursting in response to ignition. 15. The cartridge of Claim 14, wherein the reactant is second gas, having a pressure of at least several hundred atmospheres. 16. The cartridge of Claim 15, wherein the first and second gases are sealed in the same container and together form a gas mixture having a relatively low energy density in the range below about 7 kilojoules/gram and a relatively low molecular weight no higher than about 12. 17. The cartridge of Claim 14, wherein the gases are at ambient temperature. 18. The cartridge of Claim 16, wherein the gas mixture consists essentially of n1He + n2O2+Q where n2 is smaller than n1 and Q is a fuel in an amount sufficient to at least consume all the oxygen. 19. The cartridge of Claim 18, wherein Q is selected from the group consisting of H2 and CH4. 20. The cartridge of Claim 16, wherein the container includes a piston positioned behind a forward portion of the container, gas behind the piston when ignited driving the piston forward to increase the pressure on gas in the forward portion of the sealed container. 21. The cartridge of Claim 20, wherein the solid propellant is located in the container behind the piston. 22. The cartridge of Claim 21, wherein the piston includes openings so the same gas is resident in the sealed container on both sides of the piston. 23. The cartridge of Claim 22, wherein the propellant is elongated in the direction of gas flow through the diaphragm. 24. The cartridge of Claim 15, wherein the first and second gases are sealed in different containers. 25. The cartridge of Claim 24, wherein the oxidizer consists essentially of oxygen. 26. The cartridge of Claim 24, wherein the second gas consists essentially of a fuel. 27. The cartridge of Claim 26, wherein the fuel is a hydrocarbon. 28. The cartridge of Claim 27, wherein the hydrocarbon fuel is methane. 29. The cartridge of Claim 24, wherein a container including the first gas is in front of a container including the second gas. 30. The cartridge of Claim 29, wherein the container including the second gas includes solid propellant rods behind at least a portion of the second gas. 31. The cartridge of Claim 25, wherein many of the containers are nested together so containers including the first gas are next to containers including the second gas. 32. The cartridge of Claim 31, wherein the gases in the plurality of the containers form a mixture including mainly helium, oxygen and hydrocarbon fuel and having a energy density in the range about 7-12 kilojoules/gram. 33. The cartridge of Claim 32, wherein the hydrocarbon fuel is methane. 34. The cartridge of Claim 32, wherein the first gas consists essentially of an oxidizer and helium. 35. The cartridge of Claim 34, wherein the second gas consists essentially of a fuel. 36. The cartridge of Claim 31, wherein containers including the first and second gases include a piston positioned behind a forward portion of the container, gas behind the piston when ignited driving the piston forward to increase the pressure on gas in the forward portion of the sealed container. 37. The cartridge of Claim 36, wherein the solid propellant is located in the containers behind the pistons. 38. The cartridge of Claim 37, wherein each piston includes openings so the same gas is resident in the sealed containers on both sides of the pistons. 39. The cartridge of Claim 15, wherein the first and second gases are sealed in the same container. 40. The cartridge of Claim 15, wherein the first and second gases are sealed in one container. The Eurasian patent is valid in all Contracting States except for AM and MD.