DIAGNOSTICS OF POWDER CHARGE DEGRADATION BY VIBROACOUSTIC SIGNALS OF GUNSHOTS

Since the degradation of a powder charge significantly affects the effectiveness of firing missions, can lead to the destruction of the gun and injury or death of personnel, there is a practical need for systematic monitoring of its condition, and known methods and diagnostic tools do not provide the ability to conduct operational control in combat conditions. No matter what method is used to control the condition of gunpowder charges, only a sample of a larger or smaller quantity is always inspected, so there is always a non-zero probability that a certain quantity of gunpowder with an excessively high degree of degradation will be included in the ammunition of a particular artillery weapon. In addition, during transportation and storage of weapons in active combat operations, they are inevitably exposed to a variety of atmospheric factors that can significantly damage them up to the point of complete unsuitability for their intended use, but without obvious visual signs of such damage. Therefore, it is important to be able to detect an unacceptable level of powder charge degradation in time and to distinguish it from other possible factors of ineffective firing directly in combat conditions. The purpose of the research is to experimentally validate the possibility of determining the degradation of charges in combat conditions by vibroacoustic signals of gunshots. The study analyzes existing methods for diagnosing the condition of powder charges and searches for new approaches to determining the level of powder charge degradation. For the first time, a technique for diagnosing the degradation of a powder charge based on the analysis of vibroacoustic signals of gunshots is proposed. The general structure of the system for recording vibroacoustic signals of shots based on surface- mounted piezoelectric sensors is proposed. Samples of practically obtained vibroacoustic oscillations and their statistical characteristics for artillery systems with different types of barrels and projectiles are presented. The obtained results can be used for further development of methods of vibroacoustic diagnostics of the technical condition of artillery weapons, including the degradation of the gunpowder charge.