Fundamentals of Ballistics (FBall)

The course enables participants to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the internal and external ballistics of a gun and its ammunition
• Explain the key parameters of ammunition design such as propellant mass, projectile mass and calibre and their subsequent effect on the performance of a gun
• Identify the forces and moments acting on the projectile in flight and explain how a projectile may become unstable
• Calculate simplified projectile mechanics including rigid body motion relating to translation, rotation and gyroscopic effects
• Identify the main types of ammunition and their modes of operation.

The teaching includes the following topics:

• Internal ballistics
• Intermediate ballistics
• External ballistics
• Rocket propulsion
• Sabot design for kinetic energy ammunition
• Charge and shell design for ammunition
• Fragmentation and blast from ammunition
• Fuses and terminal guidance
• An introduction to smart ammunition
• Kinetic Energy ammunition and cannon ammunition.