Tracor Aerospace, Inc.

US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Mark E Majerus

William J Bergeria

Ronald L Brown

Richard L Vanaman

Ronald E Brown

An relatively small anti-personnel mine device having a housing about 2 to about 3 inches in diameter, by about 2 to about 4 inches in length, which device projects a dispersion pattern of &#x215b; to &#x215c; inch diameter hard fragments over at least a 3 to 4 inch radius circle to neutralize a typical, buried, anti-personnel mine. The device contains about 125 to 190 grams of plastic explosive, which when detonated impacts a gas push plate against which an array of the fragments are lodged&#x2014;the gas push plate and the fragments being encased in a puck shaped matrix of plastic or resin. The effect of the device is such that in addition to neutralizing the mine, the overburden atop the buried mine is expelled exposing the mine, providing enhanced safety in removal and a warning if the mine is daisy-chained to other mines.

Projector for defeating buried mines

Disclosed are devices and methods for the destruction of an explosive device, such as mines and other unexploded ordnance, without the detonation of the explosive device. The devices comprise an explosive charge that penetrates and opens the casing of an explosive device and forces reactive material into the explosive device, thus neutralizing it.

Devices and methods for clearance of mines or ordnance

In a shaped-charge device, the liner is so shaped that bulges are formed in the jet without causing the jet to deviate from the central axis. The shaped-charge device includes a case defining an axisymmetrical forwardly-opening cavity uniformly disposed about a central axis; an axisymmetrical, homogeneous-material, liner of variable thickness defining a forwardly-opening cavity having a closed apex, with the cavity being uniformly disposed within the casing about the central axis; and explosive material symmetrically disposed between the casing and the liner. The liner is so shaped that in response to the explosive material being detonated to thereby explode, the liner is progressively collapsed inward by the exploding material to be formed into a fluid jet of the homogeneous liner material that is forwardly expelled at a varying velocity from the casing along the central axis, with the forward portion of the jet being squeezed from the apex of the collapsing liner. The rate of change of liner thickness with respect to liner axial position varies such that, after the formation of the forward portion of the jet, the velocity of the jet-forming material at at least one intermediate position within the jet varies so as to cause the material to bunch up to form a symmetrical bulge at each intermediate position within the jet, but not such that the velocity of the jet-forming material increases at any such intermediate position while the material is bunching up, thereby inhibiting the material from so bunching up as to cause the jet to deviate from the central axis.

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Middletown, DE, United States of America

Mark E Majerus