Research on force losses of recoil springs made of flat and round wire used on small arms

The general working principles of small arms are the recoil of the powder gas caused by that the firing pin fires the ammunition and pushing of the recoil spring which absorbs recoil. The operation of all small arms is based on this system. Recoil spring and recoil spring guide used on small arms procures that pistol Works semi-automatically and automatically. Recoil springs enable slide to move forward after it recoils with the power of powder gas. Recoil spring guide enable spring to state properly without shifting and buckling. In recent years, especially on small arms from semi-automatic pistols, it is seen the use of recoil spring made of flat wire instead of round wire spring as alternative on many different arms. In this study, it is desinged the recoil spring of a semiautomatic pistol, which is the most known member of small arms, as a round and flat wire spring and samples were produced according to the design dimensions. These springs were subjected to compression, fatigue and life cycle tests and the changes in both springs were observed. The performances of the springs were evaluated by calculating the losses in L0 (solid height), P1 (load at length 1, preliminary test force) and P2 (load at length 2, allowable load) values. According to the results of the test, it is concluded that the losses in L0, P1 and P2 values of round wire springs are higher than flat wire springs. In particular, the losses in P1 values were observed to be much higher in round wire springs. However, an earlier break on flat wire springs occurred in the life cycle test. This study provides the weapon designer a vision about recoil springs. The purpose of the study is to contribute to the defence industry of our country by results obtained at the of the study and to shed light on the studies to be done on this subject.