Pyrotechnic shock machine
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorRaymond L. Stuckey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pyrotechnic shock testing machine employs flexure plates attached to an anvil lying in a vertical plane of a supporting frame to apply pyrotechnic shock pulses to a test unit attached to the anvil when a hammer is dropped to strike the anvil. The dimensions of the flexure plates can be selected to control the lower frequencies of the shock pulse. The anvil materials and their coupling can be selected to control the higher frequencies of the shock pulse whereby shock pulses in the range of 100 to 10000 hertz and accelerations in the range of 50 to 10000 g's can be applied to a test unit in the x, y and z directions. The shock testing apparatus is compact and portable and without the need to have complex hammer raising and dropping mechanisms.
Claims15
A pyrotechnic shock testing machine comprising:
- a) a frame 20;
- b) a hammer;
- c) means 23 attached to the frame for supporting the hammer 28;
- d) anvil means 32 for generating high energy shock forces in response to impact by the hammer;
- e) vertical and horizontal plates means 42 connecting the anvil means 32 to the frame 20, the plate means aligning the frame and anvil in a common vertical plane within the frame for controlling a low frequency response of a shock force applied to the anvil;
- f) removable fixture means 44, 46 connected to the anvil means for supporting a test unit 48 for shock testing in an x or y direction relative to the horizontal axis of the frame or z direction relative to the vertical axis of the frame, according to attachment of the test unit 48 to the fixture means 44, 46;
- and
- g) measuring means 54 attached to the test unit for recording shock levels incurred by the test unit 48 when the hammer 28 is caused to strike the anvil means 32.
The method of testing a test unit in a pyrotechnic shock tester having flexure plates and an anvil comprising the steps of:
- a) calculating the number, width and thickness of flexure plates for installation in a pyrotechnic shock tester;
- b) installing the flexure plates in a tester frame including a pendulum and hammer;
- c) selecting the materials and thicknesses of anvil plates for the pyrotechnic shock tester to control low frequency component in the range of 150 to 500 hertz of a shock force applied to the anvil;
- d) connecting the anvil to the flexure plates to be in a vertical plane of and within the tester frame and coupling the anvil plates together to control high frequency components in the range of 500 to 10,000 hertz of the shock force applied to the anvil;
- e) attaching a replaceable fixture to the anvil for supporting a test unit for testing in a selected x, y, or z direction relative to the hammer path;
- f) connecting at least one accelerometer to the test unit;
- g) connecting a digital data acquisition and analysis system to receive an output from the accelerometer;
- h) elevating the hammer to a selected height in the frame;
- and
- i) dropping the hammer to strike the anvil and deliver a pyrotechnic shock wave to the test unit in the selected test direction whereby the TH and SRS profiles of the test unit can be generated by the digital data acquisition and analysis system based on the shock received by the test unit as recorded by the accelerometer.
A protechnic shock machine including a frame an upper member and an anvil support member;
- a) a hammer;
- b) means for supporting the hammer in the upper member;
- c) anvil means for generating high energy shock forces in response to impact by the hammer;
- d) vertical and horizontal flexure plates attached to the anvil support member and joined to the anvil for mounting the anvil in a vertical plane within the anvil support member for controlling a low frequency response of a shock force applied to the anvil;
- and
- e) removable fixture means connected to the anvil for supporting a test unit for shock testing thereof in an x or y direction relative to the horizontal axis of the frame and in the z direction relative to the vertical axis of the frame.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.