Implementation of a conformal pressure measurement system for small arms

Chamber pressure and its measurement are of paramount importance for the evaluation of the safety and the understanding of the functionality of a firearm. In a rudimentary way, this may be accomplished by proof loads, the concept and the use of which for the proofing of firearms are therefore briefly explained. This leads to definitions on the maximum service load for different calibers and the use of chamber pressure measurements as part of the safety and functionality evaluation procedure for ammunition. Following this is a review of methods for measuring chamber pressure during firing and an overview of standards and standardization bodies for deciding on the suitability of a specific cartridge, or a lot of cartridges, for a firearm. Then, the implementation of a conformal sensor method, to be put into service at FFI, is described. The next two chapters are the user manuals for calibration and measuring, respectively, with the FFI system. The impatient reader, who just wants to perform a chamber pressure measurement with the conformal pressure sensor method should skip directly to there. The final two chapters discuss the results of a calibration effort and a shot-by-shot comparison of chamber pressure measurements. The many appendices contain peripheral information on piezoelectric sensors, a schematic calculation on cartridge expansion, a short primer on statistical methods and a list of parts and materials.