Measurement of Combustion Byproducts in Small Arms Blowback Gases

摘要

When a muzzle device, specifically a suppressor, is added to a small arms system, it typically has atendency to increase the system’s backpressure, therefore increasing the blowback. Different muzzledevice designs result in different increases in backpressure, and therefore different levels of blowback. Ifthe pressure is high enough when the bolt opens, gas will escape from the barrel and into the operatingmechanism. In this effort, electrochemical sensors were used to measure and quantify the combustionproducts of the blowback gases using suppressed and unsuppressed small arms systems, by both a“Chamber Method” as well as a “Breathing Zone Method.” While the combustion products consist of avariety of gases, the three primary toxic constituents are Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ammonia (NH_3), andHydrogen Cyanide (HCN). Results showed increased concentrations of gases with the use of suppressors.