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Innovative Technologies and Techniques for In-Situ Test and Evaluation of Small Caliber Munitions

The Georgia Tech Research Institute and the Army Research Laboratory have collaborated in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-sponsored SCORPION program exploring the application of microadaptive flow control techniques to small caliber munitions. This article discusses innovative techniqu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lovas, Andre, Brown, T G
Format: Report
Language:English
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Summary:The Georgia Tech Research Institute and the Army Research Laboratory have collaborated in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-sponsored SCORPION program exploring the application of microadaptive flow control techniques to small caliber munitions. This article discusses innovative techniques and technologies created in pursuit of the development, test, and evaluation of this new control technology. Tools developed include the use of g-hardened sensors, processing and actuator control electronics in 25 mm and 40 mm munitions. Inertial measurement units meeting all survival, packaging, and power requirements were designed and implemented using low-cost commercial off-the-shelf sensors including micro-electromechanical systems accelerometers and rate sensors and solid state magnetometers. Using resources integrated on the processor, flight data were recorded and stored for post-flight retrieval. An innovative projectile soft capture system allowed the projectiles to be safely recovered and reused multiple times. Data analysis techniques were extended to evaluate the in-flight performance of the microadaptive flow control technology. Further, the data served as a diagnostic tool to compare system flight performance with ground-based tests. This article was selected as the ITEA Best Paper - Third Place at the Annual ITEA International Symposium, November 12-15, 2007, Lihue, Hawaii. Published in ITEA Journal, v29 n1 p29-36, Mar 2008.