The example round that we are analyzing in this tutorial is a cartridge model of a typical 30mm Target Practice Cartridge. The projectile is comprised of a turned steel body, a crimped aluminum windscreen, and a molded-in-place nylon rotating band. An aluminum cartridge case is crimped to the aft end of the projectile and is fitted with a primer and ignition system, and contains loose fill propellant. A section of the tutorial cartridge as shown in the PRODAS 3-D Visualizer is shown below with each of the components identified:

Our analysis goal with this cartridge is to estimate the muzzle velocity by the Empirical Interior Ballistics module, given the peak chamber pressure of 360 MPa and firing in the GAU-8/A tactical barrel. Once we have a muzzle velocity estimate, we will go into considerable detail examining the pressure-time history and interior ballistic performance as computed by the Numerical Integration Interior Ballistics. The effect of new barrels (with no free run) and worn barrels (with considerable free run) on interior ballistic performance and rotating band wear will be examined.

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