Air gun shock test apparatus
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsPeter H. Vo, Michael Klensin, Roger C. Esplin, Steven Alejandro Elmer, James Paul Henderson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A test assembly and method for performing a shock test of an article includes a pneumatic gun assembly, a Hopkinson bar assembly, a magnetic catch, and a support assembly. The support assembly suspends the article in alignment with the magnetic catch. The magnetic catch retains the article against the Hopkinson bar assembly. The pneumatic gun assembly includes a striker for propagating a shock through the Hopkinson bar assembly into the article.
Claims18
An assembly for shock testing an article, the assembly comprising:
- a pneumatic gun assembly comprising:
- a reservoir;
- a gun tube with a discharge end;
- and
- a seat spaced from the discharge end and within the gun tube;
- a striker disposed within the gun tube, wherein the striker abuts the seat in a pre-fire condition;
- a Hopkinson bar assembly;
- a multi-section shaft extending a linear length from an input end to an output end, wherein the input end abuts the discharge end of the gun tube;
- a ferrous end plate attached to the article;
- and
- a magnetic catch coupling the ferrous end plate to the output end of the multi-section shaft in a pre-fire condition.
A method for shock testing an article, the method comprising:
- coupling a magnetic catch to a ferrous end plate, wherein the ferrous end plate is attached to an end of an article;
- discharging, by a computing device, a pneumatic gun assembly to thereby propel a striker into an input end of a Hopkinson bar assembly comprising a single multi-section shaft;
- and
- computing, by the computing device, a shock response spectrum based on data received from an accelerometer attached to the article, wherein the data represents a shock imposed on the article generated by the striker impacting the Hopkinson bar assembly.
An assembly comprising:
- an support assembly comprising:
- a frame;
- first and second rollers;
- an article suspended from the support frame by the first and second rollers;
- and
- a ferrous end plate attached to the article;
- a Hopkinson bar assembly comprising:
- a multi-section shaft extending a length along a centerline axis from an input end to an output end, wherein the input end abuts the discharge end of the gun tube;
- a first mount spaced from a second mount along the centerline axis and retained between major sections of the multi-section shaft and circumscribing respective minor section disposed between axially adjacent major sections;
- and
- a stationary structure, wherein the first mount and the second mount isolate shock vibrations of the multi-section shaft from the stationary structure;
- a pneumatic gun assembly comprising:
- a reservoir configured to contain pressurized gas;
- a gun tube fluidly connected to the reservoir comprising a discharge end and a seat spaced from the discharge end;
- a valve disposed between the reservoir and the gun tube having a closed position associated with a pre-fire condition and an open position associated with a firing condition;
- and
- a striker disposed within the gun tube, wherein the striker abuts the seat in the pre-fire condition;
- and
- a magnetic catch coupling the ferrous end plate to the output end of the multi-section shaft in the pre-fire condition, wherein the magnetic catch detaches from the ferrous end plate under a shock load imposed by the striker impacting the input end of the multi-section shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.