Hazard Analysis Techniques Performed on the M109 Howitzers Fire Control System

Hazard Analysis Techniques Performed on the M109 Howitzers Fire Control System

Table of Contents

Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………3

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………… 4

Description of System………………………………………………………………….5

Cannon Tube Subsystem……………………………………………………………….5

Hydraulic Subsystem…………………………………………………………………...6

Sighting Subsystem…………………………………………………………………….6

The methodology of Analysis………………………………………………………….7

Recommendations and Conclusions………………………………………………….13

Acronyms…………………………………………………………………………….14

References…………………………………………………………………………….15

Executive Summary

Howitzer is one of the mostly used artilleries across the globe for military purposes. It is essential in firing ammunitions to destroy the enemy. The devices require proper handling as it involves dangerous practices that may cause severe destructions in case of any negligence. The study sought to evaluate the kind of exercises that can help protect the howitzer crew and the howitzer itself from damage due to mistakes associated with its operations. It began with reviewing various subsystems of the howitzer such as the hydraulic system, the cannon tube subsystem, and the sighting subsystem. The study evaluated the multiple components of the howitzer system to highlight the risks associated with those parts. After the review of the subsystems, the study focused on various hazards associated the howitzer regarding its materials, operations, software, hardware, system, and services. It realized that most of the risks related to howitzer could lead to either injury to the crew or the destruction of the device. Since most of the injuries involved in the howitzer are fatal, the study realized the importance of adhering to the PPE to prevent the occurrence of the hazardous. The risks involved in the howitzer management ranged from poisonous gases, radiation, and explosions. Thus, the personnel need to be cautious when using the howitzer and report any security issue to the relevant authority and medical problems to medical staff.

Introduction

Howitzer is the type of artillery that has a short barrel and usually used to propel ammunition by using relatively small propellant charges. Howitzers have been in use for quite a long time, and they formed a significant component of artilleries employed by the European armies in the past decades. Howitzers exist in many forms such as the M1A1, M109 and the M141. Ericson (2015) highlights that during a military activity, the army organizes howitzers in groups called battery charged for a specific operation. The artillery uses several types materials that may be dangerous to the human health. Besides, operating the machine requires a lot of safety mechanisms to enable the personnel to avoid injuries during operation since a single mistake may result in severe injury or even death of personnel charged with its service.

Some of the ammunition used in howitzer have poisonous chemicals, and the crew must display a lot of caution to avoid burns or radiations from those chemicals. The artillery runs on diesel fuel which is highly flammable and can burst into massive flames upon exposure to the fire source. It generates various fumes that may harm the personnel upon inhaling them. The combustion can produce poisonous gases such as the carbon monoxide if the heating unit or the engine lacks sufficient supply of oxygen. Personnel who operates the howitzer may suffocate the carbon monoxide gas if they fail to notice its production and rectify the mistakes. The artillery has several safety requirements that the personnel need to consider before embarking on the military operation. Due to all these hazards associated with the howitzer operation, there is need to evaluate the safety measures that the personnel operating the devices must adhere to avoid injuries.

Thesis Statement: The study seeks to evaluate the hazard materials in howitzer system, their dangers and the safety, care, and handling of the materials by the personnel to prevent the risks associated with the artillery operation.

Description of System

The howitzer system consists of several subsystems whose operations are critical to the safe management of the artillery to prevent possible harm to the personnel. The study considers various subsystems of the howitzer artillery such as cannon tube subsystem, the hydraulic subsystem, and the sighting subsystem. The cannon tube subsystem consists of multiple components such as the cannon tube, breech, bore evacuator, the travel lock, the muzzle brake and thrust collar among others. The howitzer personnel need proper familiarity with these parts of the howitzer since they are essential in the control of the system during firing. Since the study had established the dangers associated with lack of pressure control in the howitzer operation leading to the severe injuries, it sought to adhere to the various components of the hydraulic subsystem of the howitzer for proper management. Further, the study evaluated the sighting subsystem of the howitzer as it defines the positioning of the artillery in the ammunition. The sighting system is essential in finding the best elevation angle that will allow the howitzer to fire the ammunition without causing any damage to self or troop members.

The Cannon Tube Subsystem

Some of the parts of this subsystem considered by the study include the cannon tube, breech, bore evacuator, the travel lock, the muzzle brake and thrust collar. The cannon tube is the projectile chamber. It locks the breech ring band using the interrupted threads as well as the breech ring key to ensure that the projectile has an accurate trajectory. Since the cannon tubes mounts inside the breech ring, the breech ring key holds the cannon tube in the best position and prevents it from either turning or unlocking due to interrupted threads. The firing of the ammunition produces gases that may contaminate the air and endanger the lives of the personnel operating the howitzer. The bore evacuator eliminates the danger of these gases by clearing the cannon tube off the gases after firing. The recoil force which occurs after firing is another significant risk associated with the howitzer operation that the crew should take into consideration (Hassaan, 2014). The muzzle brake eliminates such dangers through the reduction of recoil force and forward flash. It further ensures that the gases get deflected away from the cab to prevent contamination. The thrust collar controls the functioning of the muzzle brake by providing that it does not turn.

The Hydraulic Subsystem

The subsystem of the howitzer has several components such as the rammer, variable recoil, cannon equilibrator, actuating, cylinder, and blocking valves, handles, tray and power pack. The rammer system of the howitzer is essential in the loading of the projectile into the cannon tube and ram it into position. Ramming of the projectile requires the actuating valves that regulate the hydraulic fluid inflow and outflow after firing. The main release handle in the hydraulic subsystem conducts the locking activity to set the rammer assembly into positions. Handle assembly ensures that the rotating rammer cylinder remains in place by providing it with the hand holding while the cylinder latches further supplements that control by locking the rammer cylinder. To ensure that the rammer does not ram when in stored positions, the blocking valve keeps it in place and prevents any possible accidents to it.

Sighting Subsystem

The howitzer sighting is the process of directing a sight while aiming at a point in preparation to launch a projectile (Ericson, 2015). Firing requires a high level of accuracy to hit the target and prevent any harm that can occur to the troop members due to the poor sighting. The sighting subsystem of the howitzer has two major components including the dial sight as well a fire telescope. The dial sight helps in the estimation of the unit measures of the target distance from the howitzer while the telescopes help the operator to scan and view the target for accuracy purposes. The ballistic cover of the panoramic telescope helps in covering it from any damage. The alignment device prevents any deviations of the projectile from the target that may occur during firing.

Methodology of Analysis

The study analyzed the hazards associated with the howitzer firing and by evaluating the system item associated with such risk, the effects of the danger and the precautionary measures required for the personnel to maintain. The study reviewed the hazards under each category of the howitzer firing starting from the hardware associated risks, then the system functioning and energy to operational risks, software, and material related risks. Each subsystem of the howitzer system has its type of hazards, and the study evaluated almost all of them to ensure that the military personnel operating the device remain in safety upon following all the recommended actions required to prevent the risks.

System Hardware

Cannon Tube Subsystem

The study considered various hazards associated with operating howitzer under this section to ensure that the operators remain in safety while operating the devices. First, the study established that the recoil of the howitzer variable might be hazardous to the operator by striking him or her. The howitzer recoil may severely injure personnel due to high recoil velocity. Apart from the damage to the personnel during the system, the howitzer recoil system may also end up damaged. Thus, the howitzer personnel need to be precise with the recoil before they fire the projectile to prevent such damages. Filling the recuperator with enough levels of fluid is also essential in allowing the recoil to occur smoothly without causing any harm to the personnel or the system. The howitzer crew should remove of all possible causes obstruction during the howitzer recoil to eliminate the hazards associated with the variable recoil (Hassaan, 2014).

The firing of projectiles may lead to falling of rounds out of the cab ammunition safety racks and injure personnel or even damage the missile before launching it. However, the staff can prevent such hazards by locking the projectiles using lock pins. Afunctional failure in M82 pinner and the M4 series may arise during howitzer firing and the personnel should adhere to all the regulations to avoid such incidences. The failure by the howitzer can delay firing process by a considerable amount of time. The projectiles may fall close or very far from the target and injure the personnel operating them. The howitzer uses flammable fuels that may leak into the hull of the equipment. The leakage of fuel from the howitzer could lead to failure and cause a considerable loss of property and human beings. Observing the fuel lines is essential in eliminating such injuries caused by lack of information.

The howitzer radio communication may lose communication when the crew should fire the projectile. Lack of communication will deny the howitzer any chance of receiving voice commands. Periodic universal checks are essential in solving such problems. The howitzer battery can as well cause injury to both the personnel and device itself when the gases used in the cell explode. The operators of the howitzer should thus keep away any open flame from the device to prevent an explosion of such kind. Finally, the personnel should improve the communication when using the howitzer to avoid the problems associated with the computer system of the device. The howitzer computer may display low-level shocks due to poor installations or display ghost data and command inadvertently round fire.

Hydraulic Subsystem

The subsystem has several hazards associated with its operation that need consideration to prevent possible harm to the personnel or the system itself. First, the howitzer gunner display may display wrong data and deny the crew from receiving the correct data necessary for the successful mission. Conducting dry missions before firing is essential in solving such a problem.

Howitzer chambering has several problems associated with its fuse variable time, fuse mechanical time and well as fuse point detonating. VT associated issues may result in early or late functioning by even one second and lead to detonation of the round close to the crews. When the bullets detonate few meters from the howitzer, it may cause severe injuries to the team. According to Ericson (2015) MT and PD related issues may trigger similar problems and cause injuries to the staff or even destroy the equipment. The best solution to such hazards is to verify time setting by SC to ensure that the crew sets the correct timing.

The nonconductive temperatures in the cannon tube may prevent the propellant charge from igniting appropriately during the howitzer chambering and cause injuries to the crew (Dyer, Epstein, & Culver, 2014). Such ignition failures may lead to cooking off which could, in turn, injure the personnel and claim their lives. Some of the best solutions to these system failures include keeping the propellant charges properly stored before loading or keeping the temperature to conducive levels during intense firing through swabbing the cannon tubes with water.

The crew should take into consideration that the howitzer fire extinguisher remains ineffective when the device engine is operational. The fire extinguisher fails to function at 100 rpm. Hence, there can be significant fire outbreak that can even lead to the death of the personnel and destruction of the equipment. Fire drills are essential in controlling the problem. The associated computer problems affect the howitzer hydraulic system as well since it could fail the mission due to lack of communication or misfiring and subsequent landing off target causing loss of lives of the personnel. Adequate maintenance of the howitzer computer will eliminate such cases.

Sighting Subsystem

Sighting associated problems may affect the howitzer preparation for firing or the actual firing due to the improper laying of the direction or elevation of the howitzer. Failure to check the fluid levels or the fuse settings are other causes of the sighting problems. Blowback, round premature explosion, blown seals, and short or long targets are some of the ammunition malfunctions associated with sighting mistakes. They can lead to injury to the crew and even loss of their lives. The machine is also at risk as these mistakes can cause its destruction. Ericson (2015) emphasizes on the adherence to IAW TM 9-2350-311-10 and doing a proper checkup before firing as a preventive measure to the howitzer sighting associated risks.

System Functions

The canon, track, hull – ventilation, thermometer and lighting, firing site personal heater, rectifier, generator and exhaust grille can be victims of poor howitzer management by the crew (Leinberger, 2017). The canon tube can experience visible damage or even have a different machine in it to protect it from proper functioning. The howitzer track can be defective and roll to injure its occupants. Improper ventilation in the howitzer due to the air intake failure caused by grille fails may suffocate the crew and lead to their death. The howitzer may even expose its team to extreme temperatures as a result of self-indicating thermometer failure. The howitzer crew may suffer from exposure to ultraviolet radiations from incandescent lighting and have their bodies damaged (Khavanin, 2014; Bowler, 2014). The material used to illuminate the telescope is radioactive, and any defect may harm the crew. The carbon monoxide emitted by blocked exhaust or broken personal heart is critical in poisoning the personnel. The howitzer may even expose its team to high electrical voltages and predispose them to heart fibrillation due to problems associated with the howitzer generator or rectifier.

Ericson recommends the howitzer crew to strictly follow the IAW TM 9-2350-311-10 to seal any loophole that can lead to system failure and cause fatal injuries to them. The personnel should, therefore, store the equipment properly for security purposes. The personnel operating the device should ensure that the cannon tube is clear of any foreign object to enable the system function usually. Similarly, the grille should be free from obstruction. Finally, the personnel should employ the fair use of the PPE when operating the equipment.

Energy Sources

Howitzer operation involves a lot of energy generation due to electricity use, pressure vessels, flammable materials such as fuels and chemicals, rotating machinery as well as chemical reactions. The howitzer crew should be very vigilant to the shortcomings associated with the energy systems for the device to prevent any risks. Gas leakage can lead to an explosion and injure the personnel as well as damage the device. Guan et al. (2014) argue that the howitzer crew are likely to suffer from burns and even scald from hot surfaces of the equipment if they do not take necessary precautions. Explosions may occur when there is pressure buildup in the raffinate splitter tower due to pressure vessels failure and cause detonation. When the howitzer system explodes, the staffs may lose their lives while the machine may get damaged completely.

It is essential for the crew to ensure that there is no pressure build-up in the vessels to eliminate the chances of an explosion. Safety relief of pressure valves will lower the pressure and maintain the safety of both the crew and the device. Howitzer safety measures recommends that the personnel should keep the inflammable materials at least 50 feet away from the fire source to prevent chances of explosions (Ericson, 2015). Besides, the crew should adequately document the allowable compositions of raffinate, pressure ratings as well as follow the required procedures in chemical handling to avoid any dangerous reaction occurrence.

Software

The software is an essential component of the howitzer operation since it controls the operation of the system. Loss of digital communication signal may stall the services as the howitzer crew will be unable to manage the device. Firing the projectiles when the signal is weak may make the system to malfunction and cause fatal injuries to the howitzer crew members (van Burken, 2013). Besides, the hackers can access the security system of the military battery and plan attacks on them. The howitzer control personnel should ensure that their security system protects the software from any attack or it may stop all the operations and render the troops harmless as they lack any source of control.

Hazardous operations

Khavanin (2014) describes the howitzer operation as a risky process that requires a lot of care since it may expose the personnel to severe harm in the form of poisonous gas such as carbon monoxide, radioactive materials and dangerous equipment (Khavanin, 2014). Exposure to carbon monoxide due to lack of proper oxygen supply can lead to suffocation of the crew and even kill them. Radioactive materials such as the tritium gas used in the ammunition or on the insulator of the telescope can cause significant damage to its victims. Further, indiscriminate firing may injure the crew. Thus, the team should ensure that the engines operate in an adequately ventilated environment. They should as well remain alert to report any shortcoming to the RPO and SO. Finally, the crew should be cautious in handling chemicals and inform the doctor of any exposure to radiation.

System Hazardous Materials

    There are several hazardous materials associated with the howitzer such as hydraulic fluid spills, unused propellant charges, fuel spills, CLP, and engine spillage. Most of these chemicals are flammable; some are poisonous while some can even be radioactive. The howitzer crew may experience severe burns, suffocation, explosions or poisoning from exposure to such chemicals (Guan et al., 2014). Thus, the crew can incur injury, die, or even have the devices destroyed by the mishandling of the materials. Ericson (2015) recommends adherence to PPE to evade the dangers. The crew should report the spillage to environment safety offices and to ensure appropriate disposal of these materials.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The study evaluated the hazards related to the howitzer firing and established that they include exposure to poisonous or radioactive materials, heat, and explosions. It found that the risks can lead to severe injuries or death of the personnel and even damage to the device. It further established that most of the problems originate from the crew’s lack of proper adherence to the PPE. Thus, the study found that the staffs should strictly follow the PPE guidelines on the howitzer operation to reduce the risks related to it. The researcher, however, recommends further research on the topic to highlight more risks associated with a howitzer that this study may have failed to consider.

Acronyms

CLP - Cleaner Lubricant Perseverant

PPE – Personal Protective Equipment

RPO – Radiological Protection Officer

SO – Safety Officer

VT – Fuse Verbal Time

MD – Fuse Mechanical Time

PT – Fuse Point Detonation

SC – Section Chief

References

Bowler, H. (2014). Radiation Transport Analysis in Chalcogenide-Based Devices and a Neutron Howitzer Using MCNP. Arizona State University. Retrieved from https://repository.asu.edu/attachments/143375/content/Bowler_asu_0010N_14377.pdf

Dyer, C. K., Epstein, M. L., & Culver, D. (2014). U.S. Patent Application No. 14/235,714. Retrieved from https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140292260A1/en

Ericson, C. A. (2015). Hazard Analysis Techniques for System Safety. John Wiley & Sons.

Guan, J. L., Yu, Z. F., Kuang, K. Q., Xiao, X. K., & Hu, C. (2014, October). Large Petrochemical Reservoir Fire Characteristics and Emergency Rescue Forces Needs Analysis. In Intelligent Computation Technology and Automation (ICICTA), 2014 7th International Conference on (pp. 322-326). IEEE. Retrieved from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7003548/?reload=true

Hassaan, G. A. (2014). Dynamics of a Cannon Barrel-Recoil Mechanism with a Nonlinear Hydraulic Damper. International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Technology, 1(5), 82-91. Retrieved from https://nebula.wsimg.com/79d827eb57d8d7e5e680f727306b1f46?AccessKeyId=D81D660734BCB585516F&disposition=0&alloworigin=1#page=88

Khavanin, A. (2014). Nonthermal Effects of Radar Exposure on Human: A review article. Iranian Journal of Health, Safety and Environment, 1(1), 43-52. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=10&q=the+howitzer+operations++hazard+analysis+2013+to+2014&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5

Leinberger, L. F. (2017). How Does a Modern Field Artillery Cannon Battalion Operate in a Degraded, Denied, and Disrupted Space Operating Environment. US Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth United States.  http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1038754.pdf

van Burken, C. G. (2013). The Non-neutrality of Technology. Military Review. Retrieved from  http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a590312.pdf