Efficient Hydrodynamic Ram Test Chamber

The Air Force RamGun test facility exposes candidate structural joints to hydrodynamic ram, simulating the effect of artillery impact on an aircraft fuel bay. A projectile launched by a gas gun impacts a water filled chamber to create a pressure wave that impinges on a test article. In the existing facility, the pressure pulse is noisy and irregular, making test results difficult to interpret consistently. In addition, the projectile and impact plate are highly inefficient and are destroyed on each shot. This limits the operating range of the facility and makes experimental campaigns cumbersome. We will improve the operating range, repeatability, and utility of the RamGun facility by fitting it with acoustically optimized hardware. The upgraded design produces a clean, repeatable, planar pressure wave, making test results more controlled and meaningful. In addition, by efficiently converting all of the projectile’s kinetic energy into hydrodynamic pressure, it produces a higher amplitude pressure wave at lower projectile velocity, extending the operating range of the facility. Finally, eliminating misdirected energy prevents damage to the components, allowing the system to be re-used indefinitely.