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Advanced Method for Manufacturing Erosion Resistant Gun Barrels
Phone: (505) 342-4436
The complexities of barrel erosion are manifested in thermal, mechanical, and chemical interactions. Gun tubes made from refractory metals have excellent barrel erosion resistance, but are costly to manufacture. A need exists for an economical technique to line gun barrels with erosion and wear resistant materials. TPL will demonstrate a three unit operation process for cladding liners into gun tubes using its customizable explosive, REPLEX. These three unit operations are :1) An explosive cladding of a refractory metal to a steel gun tube; 2) An explosive depth hardening operation; and 3) The application of a metal conditioner to improve the surface microstructure of the liner. TPL's approach to the program will consist of three stages: 1) Design of the processes and fabrication of the necessary hardware; 2) Conduct of the processes (cladding, hardening, and chemical treatment); and 3) Evaluation of the products. An economic analysis of the process is a dependent task based ont he results of the testing. TPL's team is composed of individuals with the requisite experience - shock physics, dynamic test experience, and metallurgical engineering. The company has the means to commercializae this process including manufacturing space, testing ranges, and experience taking products from R&D to full scale. BENEFITS: The anticipated benefit to the militasry will be a substantial reduction in the costs associated with gun tube manufacture and replacement. The commercial applications include manufacture of economical erosion resistant chemical process tubing and reactors.
* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *