Composite concentric launch canister
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsAndrew B. Facciano, Craig R. Adams, Christine L. Benzie, Kelvin M. Jordan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A launch canister for a missile, including an outer canister shell and a concentric inner liner. The inner liner augments the canister shell with structural load capability and bending inertia to enhance canister stiffness. The inner liner can be constructed from structural load carrying composite materials, and also acts as a thermal and ablative insulator to enable vertical plume venting away from the enveloped missile. A shock and vibration isolation layer can be laminated between the inner liner and canister shell.
Claims32
A missile shipping and launch canister for housing a missile encased therein, comprising:
- an outer canister shell structure;
- a plume impingement end plate structure attached to the outer shell structure at a first end thereof;
- an inner liner structure disposed within the outer shell structure, the inner liner sized to house and protect the encased missile from transportation and shipping environments during deployment, the inner liner structure including guide surfaces for guiding the missile during launch egress while protecting deployable wings and control surfaces of the missile, and for thermally insulating the missile from a launch motor plume, the inner liner structure having defined therein a plurality of plume passages to allow rocket plume gases to escape upward during missile egress while preventing the gases from impinging against an inner surface of the outer shell structure;
- the outer canister shell structure serving as a primary load-carrying structure that attaches the plume impingement end plate structure at said first end to form an integral plenum chamber.
A canister for housing a missile, comprising:
- an outer canister shell structure;
- a plume impingement end plate structure attached to the outer shell structure at a first end thereof;
- an inner liner structure disposed within the outer shell structure, the inner liner sized to house and protect the encased missile from transportation and shipping environments during deployment, the inner liner structure including guide surfaces for guiding the missile during launch egress, and a plurality of internal plume passages to allow rocket plume gases to escape during missile egress while shielding inner surface regions of the outer shell structure from contact with the gases;
- the outer canister shell structure serving as a primary load-carrying structure, the plume impingement end plate structure attached at said first end of said outer canister shell to form an integral plenum chamber.
A missile shipping and launch canister for housing a missile encased therein, comprising:
- an outer canister shell structure fabricated of composite materials;
- a plume impingement end plate structure attached to the outer shell structure at a first end thereof;
- an inner liner structure disposed within the outer shell structure, the inner liner sized to house and protect the encased missile from transportation and shipping environments during deployment, the inner liner structure including guide surfaces for guiding the missile during launch egress while protecting deployable wings and control surfaces of the missile, and for thermally insulating the missile from a launch motor plume, the inner liner structure having defined therein a plurality of plume passages to allow rocket plume gases to escape upward during missile egress while preventing the gases from impinging against an inner surface of the outer shell structure, the inner liner structure fabricated of an ablative material to withstand effects of hot gasses;
- the outer canister shell structure serving as a primary load-carrying structure that attaches the plume impingement end plate structure at said first end to form an integral plenum chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.