Polymeric Ammunition Casing Geometry

摘要

An ammunition cartridge casing having a geometry designed to allow for the use of polymeric materials in forming the walls of the cartridge casing of an ammunition article, and methods of reusing such cartridges are provided. More specifically, the ammunition cartridge has a specified ratio between the wall-thicknesses of select portions of an ammunition article's cartridge casing such that polymeric materials may be used in the construction of the ammunition article cartridge casings.

主权项

1. A method of reusing an ammunition article comprising:
providing a casing defining a generally cylindrical hollow body having a metallic cap at a first end thereof and a caselet at a second end thereof, the caselet having a proximal end defining a body region and a distal end defining a neck region, wherein the cap is interconnected with the proximal end of said caselet such that the casing at least partially encloses an internal volume, and wherein the diameter of the caselet narrows from a first diameter at the body region to a second diameter at the neck region, the casing having a propellant disposed and confined within said internal volume and a primer disposed at the first end of said casing in combustible communication with said propellant, wherein the caselet at least partially comprises a substantially polymeric material, and wherein the ratio of the minimum thickness of the wall of the body region of the said caselet to the mid-point of the tolerance range of the wall thickness of the neck region of the ammunition casing is greater than 1.5; firing the ammunition article; and discarding the fired polymeric caselet, retaining the fired metallic cap and attaching a new polymeric caselet to the existing metallic cap.