Publications Details
Modeling of the second stage of the STAR 1.125 inch two-stage gas gun
The second stage of the Shock Technology and Applied Research (STAR) facility two-stage light gas gun at Sandia National Laboratories has been modeled to better assess its safety during operation and to determine the significance of various parameters to its performance. The piston motion and loading of the acceleration reservoir (AR), the structural response of AR, and the projectile motion are determined. The piston is represented as an incompressible fluid while the AR is modeled with the ABAQUS finite element structural analysis code. Model results are compared with a measured profile of AR diameter growth for a test at maximum conditions and with projectile exit velocities for a group of tests. Changes in the piston density and in the break diaphragm opening pressure are shown to significantly affect the AR loading and the projectile final velocity.