Investigations on influence of rifle automatics system action on values of energetic efficiency coefficient of muzzle brakes

The objective of the paper was to compare values of the muzzle brake efficiency coefficient for a rifle with active or inactive automatics systems. Special laboratory stand designed for investigating the recoil process was used. The motion of the rifle was detected by the use of the laser interferometer and the optical camera. The recoil velocity time courses were determined by smoothing and differentiation of experimental position records. The results of the experiments indicated that in the case of an active automatics system two values of the recoil velocity can be used for calculation of the energetic efficiency coefficient: the maximum recoil velocity and the final recoil velocity at the end of the automatics action cycle. The values of the coefficient, calculated using these two values of the recoil velocity, distinctly differ. However, it was shown that their values indicate the same relation between the efficiency of various muzzle brakes. The value of the efficiency coefficient, determined on the basis of the final recoil velocity value, is practically the same as that determined on the basis of the final recoil velocity value for the rifle with an inactive automatics system.