RATIONAL TERMS OF STORAGE OF AMMUNITION UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF MINIMIZING THE IMPACT ON THE AUTOMATIC WEAPON AND ITS BALLISTIC CHARACTERISTICS

Among the wide variety of requirements proposed for modern small arms, it is possible to single out the trouble-free operation of a sample of weapons, which is achieved by ensuring the necessary survivability of parts and mechanisms of automatic weapons. The dynamic nature of the forces and stresses acting on the parts of automatic weapons makes it difficult to ensure their strength and is one of the main reasons for the relatively low survivability. Of particular importance is the provision of sufficient survivability of the barrel, which plays a decisive role in the overall survivability of the weapon. The main causes of barrel bore wear are shown. It has been proven that with the growth of wear and tear, the ballistic characteristics deteriorate, which leads, accordingly, to an increase in the amount of ammunition required to perform a firing task, as well as to a decrease in the range of guaranteed penetration of an obstacle. It has been proven that long-term storage of ammunition leads to changes in the physical and chemical characteristics of gunpowder. It was determined that such changes significantly affect the parameters of internal ballistics during a shot. Therefore, the resource of the barrel is determined by the change in internal ballistics indicators caused by gerontological changes in the powder charge. The results of experimental studies on the effect of powder charge aging on the ballistic characteristics of small arms and the survivability of their barrels are presented. The analysis of the obtained research data allows us to predict the rational storage period of ammunition for small arms, which is 17–21 years, and the number of shots that should be limited for the corresponding batch of ammunition depends on the mode of firing. The resulting dependencies make it possible to determine changes in the initial velocity of the bullet associated with the firing of the barrel and its wear, as well as automation elements caused by the use of ammunition with long storage periods.