Novel Miniature Inertial Igniters for Thermal Batteries

The primary objective of this project is to study the feasibility of a number of classes of novel miniature inertial igniter concepts for thermal batteries that are particularly suitable for gun-fired munitions and mortars. A systematic method is developed for determining the performance of the miniature inertial igniter concepts to all no-fire acceleration profiles, including those due to accidental drops, transportation and handling, as well as to the acceleration profiles defined for achieving ignition. Issues related to the integration of the proposed novel miniature inertial igniters into thermal battery housing as well as high G hardening are addressed. The project involves extensive kinematics, dynamics and finite element modeling of the miniature inertial igniter concepts, as well as their various components to determine their dynamic response to various environmental inputs such as accidental drops and firing accelerations profiles to satisfy the indicated safety and activation requirements. The proposed miniature inertia based igniters for thermal batteries should satisfy the need for the development of low cost, safe, small and low power thermal batteries, particularly for fuzing applications.