Internal Ballistics

Internal ballistics studies events inside a firearm from propellant ignition until the projectile exits the muzzle, including pressure development and projectile motion.

Propellant: A material that produces expanding gas through rapid combustion or decomposition to drive a projectile. Its gas generation supplies the pressure that accelerates the projectile.
Chamber (firearms): The part of a firearm that contains the cartridge before and during firing. It houses the cartridge while propellant gases begin to develop.
Pressure–time curve: A graph showing how pressure changes over time during a process. In firing tests, it reveals the timing and peak of chamber pressure.
External ballistics: The study of a projectile's flight after it leaves the muzzle and before reaching its target. It starts where internal ballistics ends: at muzzle exit.
Chamber pressure: The pressure exerted by propellant gases within a firearm chamber during firing. Its rise and peak govern the forces acting on the case, firearm, and projectile.
Cartridge case: A container that holds a cartridge's primer, propellant, and projectile and seals the chamber during firing. Its expansion against the chamber helps contain firing pressure.
Piezoelectric pressure measurement: A method that measures changing pressure using electrical charge generated by stressed piezoelectric material. It provides time-resolved pressure measurements in instrumented firearm tests.
Terminal ballistics: The study of a projectile's effects and behavior when it strikes a target. It concerns impact rather than motion inside the firearm.
Projectile motion: The movement of a projectile under applied forces from launch through its subsequent flight. Inside the bore, propellant pressure accelerates the projectile toward the muzzle.
Bore (firearm): The interior passage of a firearm barrel through which a projectile travels. Its dimensions and surface constrain the projectile's path and gas expansion.

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