PREDICTING THE DYNAMIC STABILITY OF SMALL-CALIBER AMMUNITION

The aerodynamic and flight dynamic characterization of projectiles is an essential element of an study in which the basic understanding of projectile flight is desired. Over the past several years, there has been a renewed interest in small-caliber ammunition. An extensive experimental program for the aerodynamic and flight dynamic characterization of 5.56-mm small-caliber ammuntion has been developed and executed to enhance the Army's understanding of the ammunition over its first 600 m of flight using simulated-range experiments. A flight dynamic characterization, to include yaw limit cycle, was accomplished to provide data for validation against real-range yaw limit cycle data. The validation of simulated-range yaw limit cycle will provide a basis for all future yaw limit cycle testing because while yaw limit cycle remains a critical design parameter, real-range yaw limit cycle testing is not a viable option.;D