• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.291-300
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• 2020

The cartridges used for illuminating a desired point or area are virtually limited in tests and evaluations because of limitations, such as noise during launch, the possibility of fires caused by illuminant charge, and the annual testable quantity. Therefore, to solve these problems, a ground fixed test, which replaces the firing test, or an evaluation method to perform limited tests, can be applied more efficiently. In this paper, the results of an 81mm illuminating cartridge, KM series performed in 2019 were analyzed comprehensively to identify the trends in reliability and quality characteristics and to estimate the shelf life. The shelf life was estimated to be at least 10 years based on the time when the lower confidence level reached 80% at a confidence level of 90%. Considering only major defects, the shelf life can be estimated to be approximately 23 years. On the other hand, the shelf life was estimated to be approximately 11 to 15 years and 25 to 28 years according to the effective illuminating time. Finally, an assessment plan of illuminating cartridges for the mortars was also presented as an improvement plan for an assessment method in the future.