NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF ELECTRORHEOLOGICAL FLUID BASED RECOIL SYSTEM FOR ARTILLERY GUN

This research develops and evaluates an electrorheological (ER) fluid recoil reduction system for application in artillery weapon systems. A novel ER fluid was developed using barium titanyl oxalate (BTO) nanoparticles with urea surface treatment dispersed in silicon oil, while also including oleic acid as a dispersant. A total of nine ER fluid samples were fabricated with different concentration and surface treatments yielding the desired rheological, electrical, and sedimentation properties. The 25% urea-coating BTO formulation had the greatest performance by exhibiting 20 kPa yield strength at 3 kV/mm, good dielectric strength, and negligible sedimentation. The optimal fluid was characterized and demonstrated in a tapered orifice ER damper with aluminacoated electrodes, representing the main component in a semi-active recoil mitigation system. The damper was simulated and optimized in various ways to maximize performance in MATLAB, while the complete system was simulated in MATLAB/Simulink and tested for different gun elevation angles. The results demonstrated response from the system of approximately 30% lower recoil displacement, effectively damps for all test conditions, and runs a shorter recoil stroke of 0.702 m. The ER design improves controllability, increases firing stability, and results in better energy efficiency, thus offering strong feasibility for being adopted into nextgeneration development artillery platforms.