Electronic Time Fuze

Dr. Virendra Kumar (1),Mrs. Rohini P. Gaikar (2), Anjali Ramchandani (2), Nikhil Sharma (2), Priyanka Raut (2)
(1)Armament Research and Development Establishment Pashan, Pune – 411 021
(2)Electronics and Telecommunication Dept, Dr.D.Y Patil College of Engineering, Akurdi, Pune-411044.

Abstract— Idea of Electronic Time fuze was first discussed in
the beginning of 1990’s.In this paper we propose a design for
electronic time fuze with impact fuze as the backup mode.
Electronic time fuze is a device that causes time to pass from
when a device is set up to the time it explodes. The design allows
the unit to be programmed for variable delay from 2-199.9
seconds with a resolution of 1/10th of a second. The unit has a
impact fuze mode for backup which detect an impact with the
target and detonates the munition.
technology for Lead Zicronate Titanate piezoelectric material
commonly known as PZT [8]. This material finds extensive
application in the armament impact fuzing ammunition. Due
to impact momentum of shell against the hard target PZT
crystals produce high voltage pulse to initiate hollow charge
warhead. Also ARDE is combining different state of art
sensors and electronic signal processing for target
identification and initiation.

Keywords— Electronic Time Fuze (ET),Semiconductor Bridge

(SCB), Electrical Initiated Explosive Devices (EIED’s), Armament
Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), High Explosive
(HE).

I. INTRODUCTION
Fuze is a device that provides safe, reliable detonations of
munitions at the desired time and place. It controls safe
separation of munition from the delivery platform and trigger
its detonation. Fuze is an essential part of military munitions.
Time Fuzes detonate after a set period of time. Early time Figure 1: ET Fuze and Time setter developed by ARDE
fuzes used one or more combinations of mechanical, [7].
pyrotechnic, chemical or even electrical timers. The problem
with mechanical, pyrotechnic and chemical timers was that
they were not very precise and somewhat erratic. Also there II. ELECTRONIC TIME FUZE
were several complex factors that prevented a high degree of The Electronic Fuze Assembly is placed in the nose of a bomb
regularity in the field. Electrical time fuzes were designed or munition shell. The fuze assembly is as shown in Figure 2.
using discrete components. It mostly consisted of counters,
The main modules comprising of ET fuze are Electronic
oscillators and non-volatile memory. The drawback was that
controller module, Reserve Battery, Safe and Arming device
these components needed more space to accommodate. This
also had a limitation on time accuracy, which was of the order and Booster [9]. The electronic controller module fits inside
50msec [7]. ARDE has developed microcontroller based field the fuze radome and the battery along with safe and arming
programmable electronic timers not only to replace previous device and booster fits inside the fuze housing. The fuzes are
timers but also to incorporate additional features of safety and - Factory Programmed.
authentication. - Field Programmed.
The microcontroller based delay circuit is a highly
integrated solution for programmable ET fuzes. It provides a
solution for ET fuze design with minimum components. The
advantages of ET fuze are ultra low power consumption,
better timer accuracy, secrecy of design and also
miniaturization of the circuit. They offer a stable, accurate and
reliable performance over long periods. This design offers an
additional advantage of target destruction by providing an
impact fuze mode, in case time fuze fails to operate. ARDE
has developed ET fuzes not only for 81mm, 120mm mortars
but also for 105mm and 150 mm artillery. ARDE has also
developed special Time Setter modules for arming ET fuzes..
Impact Fuzes detonate when their forward motion rapidly
decreases typically on physically striking the target. The
detonation can be set to be instantaneous or deliberately Figure 2: ET Fuze Structure
delayed. ARDE has successfully developed sophisticated

Author for correspondence, Dr. Virendra Kumar, dvkverma25@gmail.com, for presentation in International Conference on
“Emerging Trends in Electronics & Communication Engineering (ETECE-2015)” BVUCOE, during 2-3 April 2015, Pune
 though inductive coupling can also be used. Error free data
transfer has been achieved successfully [8].

B. Electronic Controller Module:

Figure 3: Block Diagram
A. Time Setter Module:
Time Setter has an alphanumeric display and a keyboard
for entering inputs [Figure 1]. This is a handheld device is
used by the user to manipulate i.e. program the fuze as per the
requirements. This module provides a 4x4 keyboard which is
used by the user for,
The electronic controller assembly is the intelligent
component of the fuze which decides when to detonate the
fuze by acting upon the inputs provided to the unit in the form
of delay and impact values. The microcontroller is selected
considering minimum space requirements and power usage.
The electronic fuze assembly performs two main operations
of,
1. Time Fuze.
2. Impact Fuze .
As shown in Figure 5 the electronic controller assembly
consists of a single controller which replaces the discrete
components used in earlier time fuzes. Also a single controller
provides the advantage of having a single Printed Wiring
Board (PWB) instead of two or more separate boards [10] .
To firing circuit switch
U1

- Choosing mode of operation. VDD

R1
13
12
11
RA0/AN0/C1IN+/ICSPDAT/ULPWU RC0/AN4/C2IN+
RA1/AN1/C1IN-/VREF/ICSPCLK
RA2/AN2/T0CKI/INT/C1OUT
RC1/AN5/C2IN-
RC2/AN6
10
9
8
Accelerometer (X-axis)
Accelerometer (Y-axis)
4 7
RA3/MCLR/VPP RC3/AN7 Accelerometer (Z-axis)
1k 3 6
RA4/AN3/T1G/OSC2/CLKOUT RC4/C2OUT/TX/CK
2 5

- Entering delay amount. C1

100n
RA5/T1CKI/OSC1/CLKIN
PIC16F688
RC5/RX/DT

- Entering unique password for authentication of user.

16x2 alphanumeric display is used to display following
information to the user,
-Status information of the process being carried on.
-Delay amount entered by the user.
All the data is processed by a controller unit in the form of
a microcontroller which accepts the inputs from the keyboard,
computes on the data based on pre-fed algorithms and gives
output to the liquid crystal display (LCD) [2][3].
Figure 4: Time Setter Module
There are various methods used for data transfer as: Data
transfer through physical link, through RF system, IR system
and inductive coupling. Physical cable is used for this design,
Figure 5: Electronic Controller Board
1) Time Fuze: - The main aim of time fuze is to provide
accuracy in the functioning for reliable operation of fuze. Also
the design of time fuze aims to provide greater flexibility of
operation so that unit is programmable for any delay time.
Thus the unit is programmable over a wide delay range of 2.0
seconds to 199.9 seconds [9].
The timer setter module as shown in Figure1 is used to
accept the delay value from the user. This delay value is
transferred via serial communication to the microcontroller of
electronic controller. This value is processed by the
microcontroller and the timer is initialized. The timer runs
parallel with the CPU and hence there is no intervention from
CPU, which makes the timer quite accurate.
The timer in initialized to run on microcontrollers internal
clock and is set to provide accurate delay with resolution of
0.1 seconds. A flag is generated by the timer indicating
completion of delay period. Following it the firing circuitry is
signaled to detonate the fuze.
Time Fuze Specifications:
- Time Setting Range - 2 seconds to 199.9 seconds.
- Timer Resolution – 0.1 second.
 This design aims at providing timer accuracy of around
300 micro second. The errors due to Power on Reset (POR)
and Crystal oscillators start-up time has been compensated
using internal calibrated RC oscillator. Also using the internal
oscillator provides the solution of fuze design with minimum
off-chip components. Crystal oscillator has a good accuracy
and stability but a longer start-up time. While RC oscillator’s
start-up time is very small and is in the range of one clock
cycle[6]. Thus timer is set to run on internal clock for
providing greater accuracy.
2) Impact Fuze:-
Impact Fuze mode is initiated when ET Fuze fails to
operate. An impact/contact fuze detonates on contact with
a hard surface. Detection of impact can be done using
variety of sensors [9]. These sensors measure severity of
impact. Accelerometers are one of the most common
inertial sensors with wide applications. The sensor used in
this project is a silicon capacitive sensor of range 100g. Its
low power usage, good stability, resolution and speed are
the parameters essential for this project. Capacitive
accelerometers output a voltage that depends on the
distance between two planar surfaces.
Figure 6: Capacitive Accelerometer
According to the impact response analysis collected through
the use of accelerometer data, impact is sensed at a threshold
value of 36g and ranges up to 50g.
Figure 7: Typical Crash Pattern
The output of accelerometer is sensed by the microcontroller
of electronic controller module on its analog input pins and the
data is further processed. On sensing an impact the
microcontroller signals the squib and the fuze is detonated.
3) Impact Fuze with fixed delay:-
This mode is incorporated in ET fuzes for particular
applications. Detonation after impact is deliberately delayed a
preset fraction of time after penetrating into the target. Fixed
as well as variable delay can be provided for detonation after
impact. This fuze design aims at providing a fixed delay of 40
milliseconds after sensing of impact [9].
On selection of this mode the accelerometer is initialized
along with the controller’s ADC functions to accept the
accelerometer data. On sensing an impact with the target the
timer in the controller is set. The system waits for timer to
complete its operation for 40 ms and then it detonates the fuze.
4) Voltage Boosting Circuit: Reserve battery is the main
source of supply for the electronic controller board. But the
reserve battery output fails to drive/trigger the primary charge
(SCB). Hence the main function of voltage booster circuit is to
amplify the input voltage to a higher voltage level that is
sufficient to provide an all fire current to trigger SCB [4]. Our
design achieves this boost and provides a stable output voltage
using a feedback mechanism.
Figure 8: Schematic of Voltage Booster Circuit
During the initial stage of fuze operation the voltage is
boosted and stored in a charge storing device i.e. capacitor.
The voltage is boosted to a value of 60V. A feedback
mechanism ensures that the voltage remains stable to 60V at
the output and controls the charging rate of capacitor in order
to increase efficiency.
5) Firing Circuit:
The firing circuit/ squib is an essential part of fuze
which performs the detonating action. The firing circuit
consists of two main parts; first one is the primary charge for
which a semiconductor bridge (SCB) is used. Semiconductor
Bridge is an electrically initiated explosive device made up of
a poly-silicon material on SiO2 layer with two metal lands for
electrical contacts [1]. When a fast rising current is applied on
the semiconductor bridge, it generates hot plasma for the
ignition of explosive powder pressed against the bridge.
Ignition is via micro-convective heat transfer process and not
merely a thermal conductive heat transfer as with hot wires
[4].
ARDE has successfully developed and tested SCB
detonator MK-1 [9]. The MK-I detonator has the following
specifications,

Figure 9: ARDE MK-I Detonator
Figure 10: MK-I detonator specifications.
ARDE is also working for the development of SCB MK-II
detonator. The SCB MK-II detonator has itegrated firing
circuit and dual bridge for better redundancy and reliability
[4]. The project uses Semiconductor Bridge MK-I detonator
developed by ARDE. On providing all fire current to the
detonator it ignites producing an audible click sound and blue
spark.
The second part of firing circuit is a switching mechanism
that controls the energy supplied to SCB. A silicon control
rectifier (SCR) is used as a switch to manipulate the charge
stored in the capacitor of voltage boost circuit [9]. The SCR is
triggered by the controller of electronic controller board on
completion of time delay or detection of impact. Thus the
boosted voltage drives the scb and the fuze is detonated.
C. Reserve Battery:
A reserve battery, also called stand-by battery, is a primary
battery where part is isolated until the battery needs to be
used. In reserve battery the active chemicals of the cell are
segregated until needed, thus reducing self discharge. A
reserve battery is distinguished from a back up battery, in that
a reserve battery is inert until it is activated, while a backup
battery is already functional, even if it is not delivering
current.
Due to following advantages over other types of reserve
batteries thermal batteries are widely used in munitions. The
advantages of thermal batteries are that they have a long shell
life and do not need maintenance while in storage. Once they
are hermetically sealed, they are electrochemically stable.
Thermal batteries do not outgas as well.. They can operate in a
wide range of environmental temperatures (-65oC to +75oC).
They can withstand high G forces and they deliver high power
levels. Thermal battery cells typically have an alkali or
alkaline earth metal anode, a salt electrolyte and a metal salt
cathode. A pyrotechnic heat source is inserted between the
cells in the battery stack. At room temperature the salt
electrolyte is solid. The battery is activated by lightning an
internal fuze that in turn lights the internal pyrotechnic
materials. The pyrotechnic materials raise the internal battery
temperature to between 400 to 700oC. Once the internal
temperature is above the 400oC, the electrolyte melts ant the
battery becomes active. The time the cell is active and
produces power is called the run time and it can be no longer
than the time the electrolyte remains molten. The battery
returns to an inert state as the battery cools below 400oC and
the electrolyte again becomes solid [11].It is best to isolate
electronics and the munition from the thermal battery.
D. Safe and Arming Device:
Safety and arming device follows a mechanism to keep the
initiation of the explosive train on hold as long as the some
safety standards are not achieved. The safety and arming
mechanisms are of the following types,
- Mechanical,
- Electro-mechanical,
- Electronic,
- Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS).
Safety features have to be incorporated to prevent fuze arming
before it leaves the gun barrel [10]. Most common safety and
arming mechanisms include,
1) Arming by inertia also known as ‘setbback’.The safety
element is removed when a certain level of inertia is reached
during firing of missile from its gun.
2) Arming by spin.After reaching a certain frequency of
rotation the safety feature is removed because of the
centrifugal forces acting on the missile body.
E. Booster:
Booster is a charge kept at the base of fuze. The main function
of the booster charge is to detonate the main charge in the
artillery shell. The booster is triggered when the primary
charge (SCB) is set by the firing pin.
Result and Conclusion
The Electronic time fuze designed in this project is variable
delay programmable fuze. The fuze is controlled by a time
setter module which controls the arming and operation of fuze.
Previous fuze designs had separate modules for providing time
delay, sensing impact and firing the fuze but in this particular
design all three operations are performed by a single control
unit. This Electronic Time Fuze has the following unique
features,
1. It is a fully field programmable time fuze with high
reliability.
2. Operation Modes: Time Mode, Impact with delay
mode.
3. Back up Mode: Point Detonating (Impact).
4. Programmable for a delay range of 2-199.9 seconds
with increments of 0.1 seconds.
5. Physical Size of PCB: Circular 2 layer PCB of radius
28.6mm.
6. Temperature Range: -450C to +750C.
 7. Voltage Boost: 60V.
8. Firing current: 1.2A for 4ms.
9. Mechanical Safety : Setback (Minimum 40g),
Spin (Non arm-1100rpm References
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“Electronic Detonator System”,United States Patent,2003,Patent
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12. Packing: Packed in hermetically sealed and [3] Lawson J. Tyler, Paul N. Worsey, “Integrated Detonator delay circuits
Paradropability containers. and firing console.”, United States Patent,1987,Patent 4674047 A.
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The authors are thankful to Dr K M Rajan, Director, Pune
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support provided.