R. Meyer J. Köhler A. Homburg Explosives

Combustible Cartridge Cases
Combustible Cartridge Cases
Verbrennbare Kartuschhülsen; douilles combustibles
The propellant charge used for the shot from a weapon is introduced
into cases or bags (“cartouche bags”); for metallic cartouche cases,
the projectile is combined with the propellant charge and the propellant
Charge igniter to form a “cartridge”.
Now, combustible cartridge cases serve the purpose of making the
case material contribute to the ballistic performance and to render
unnecessary the removal of inert material from the weapon after the
shot. Such case material has to be adapted to the combustion process
of the powder. It consists of high-energy material, e.g. nitrocellulose, a
structure-reinforcing additive, e.g. kraft-paper pulp, binders of plastic
material, and further additives, e.g. stabilizers such as contained in the
powder itself. The cases are made by filtration from a pulp, pressing,
molding and drying.
Caseless ammunition is also available for infantry weapons; as the
ejector mechanism can be dispensed with, it is possible to raise the
number of shots in machine guns.
W “Caseless Ammunition”
Combustion
Verbrennung; combustion
Any oxidation reaction, including those produced by introduction of
atmospheric oxygen; many explosives are capable of burning without
detonation if unconfined. Moreover, the oxidation reaction taking place
in propellants without introduction of oxygen is also designated as
combustion: it is preferable to denote this process as burning (W Burning
Rate; W Deflagration).
Combustion Chamber
Brennkammer; chambre de combustion; case
In rocket technology, the chamber in which the reaction of the propellants
takes place.
In solid fuel rockets, the propellant container also serves as the
combustion chamber; in liquid fuel rockets it is the chamber in which
the injected liquid components of the propellant to react with one
another. The combustion chamber must withstand the predetermined
working pressure and the temperatures developing at the chamber
walls. In liquid fuel rockets the chamber wall is externally cooled in
most cases; in solid fuel rockets, in which internal charges bonded to
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