This invention provides a gun having a combustion chamber (combustor) which is filled (24) with a charge of monopropellant or bi-propellant to less than full volume (e.g. 30 to 90%) prior to ignition thereof preferably with a tangential flow (26) of ignition gas from the side or rear to establish a desired pattern of combustion gas in the charge.

The gun structure comprises a breech casing (21) defining a breech bore, a fixed member (5) in the breech bore, a differential area piston (6) dividing the breech bore between a combustion chamber (55) and a propellant reservoir (35), said piston having an enlarged portion and a cut out portion, said cut out portion overrunning the fixed member as piston moves from a gun charged position to a gun discharged position, and said cut out portion and said enlarged portion being so sized and shaped to cooperate as said piston moves with respect to said fixed member to define a variable area injection orifice for the flow of propellant from said reservoir to said combustion chamber.

This invention provides a liquid propellant gun system a travelling charge (in 16) which is ignited after both such charge and the projectile (52) have been accelerated forwardly e.g. by ignition of a stationary charge (in 56).

An armament system provides a launch tube filled with a mixture of gaseous propellant and a projectile possessing an external surface configuration which is effective to initiate a ram jet effect between the external surface of said projectile and the inner wall of said launch tube when said projectile is inserted at a high velocity into and along said tube.

A decompression seal mechanism has a body containing a series of cavities formed by alternate grooves and lands and formed of a porous structure deposited by a plasma spray, and means for supplying said porous structure with a positive flow of liquid lubricant.

An armament system provides a launch tube filled with a mixture of gaseous propellant and a projectile possessing an external surface configuration which is effective to initiate a ram jet effect between the external surface of said projectile and the inner wall of said launch tube when said projectile is inserted at a high velocity into and along said tube.

A regenerative liquid propellant gun structure in which the differential area piston is annular, having a peripheral cylindrical skirt extending away from the combustion chamber to define a propellant reservoir, and has an aperture permitting overrunning of a fixed bolt. The fixed bolt is shaped to define with the edge of the aperture a variable annual orifice for propellant injection as the piston moves. There is a second free piston overruning the bolt and mating with the inside of the differential area piston to complete and provide for emptying of the reservoir. The structure also contains a spring to allow components to move responsive to increased combustion chamber pressure to provide for an initial movement of differential area piston relative to the bolt to start propellant injection and a fluid pressure means for movement of pistons after firings to facilitate reloading.

Dispositif générateur de courant électrique. Il comprend essentiellement:

• - un cylindre vertical (1). ouvert à son extrémité supérieure, équipé sur au moins une portion de sa longueur de bobines inductrices (3) et comportant dans sa partie basse une chambre d'explosion unique (2), alimentée par un mélange comburant-carburant explosible sous pression ou une charge explosive et comportant des moyens assurant l'explosion si nécessaire,
• - un piston libre (4), dont au moins une partie est constituée par une masse magnétique (5) et dont le retour en position basse est assuré par la force de gravité
• - des clapets ou soupapes (8) pour l'évacuation des gaz brûlés, dans la partie inférieure du cylindre, et un système de synchronisation de l'ouverture et de la fermeture de ces clapets ou soupapes avec le mouvement du piston.

Application aux générateurs de courant électrique de moyenne puissance, fixes ou embarqués.