Understanding and Predicting Gun Barrel Erosion

Ian A. Johnston
Weapons Systems Division

Defence Science and Technology Organisation

DSTOTR1757

ABSTRACT

sion issues arising from the use of new low-vulnerability gun propellants, the to existing propelling charge designs. A critical, technical review of advances in gun barrel erosion research, mitigation, and assessment over the last teen years is presented. Known and postulated erosion mechanisms, obtained acquisition of new ammunition and gun systems, and possible modi cations

e Australian Defence Force will soon have to contend with gun barrel ero-

f-

through recent experimental and numerical modelling work, are described edge of existing methods are reviewed.

and contrasted. New approaches to erosion mitigation and updated knowlthe utility of the various erosion modelling and experimental techniques, and

Also included is an assessment of

notes on their possible use for defence applications in Australia.

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

DSTOTR1757

Published by Weapons Systems Division PO Box

DSTO Defence Science and T echnology Organisation

Edinburgh, South Australia, Australia T elephone: Facsimile: ( )

Commonwealth of Australia AR No. August, -

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

ii

DSTOTR1757

Understanding and Predicting Gun Barrel Erosion

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

ity and the expense of barrel replacement over the lifetime of a gun system. It is partic,

e erosion of gun barrels in service leads to reduced gun performance and availabil-

of existing propelling charge con

term acquisition of new ammunition and weapon systems, and the possible modi and assessment of the associated barrel erosion risks.

dating the future use of low vulnerability (LOVA) propellants, the near- and mediumgurations, all present the need for reliable prediction cation

barrel erosion, it has recently received renewed a

Although the Australian Defence Force has long had to contend with the problem of gun

ularly problematic for those guns which operate in high performance ballistic regimes.

ention. A new defence instruction man-

described and contrasted. New approaches to erosion mitigation and updated knowledge of existing methods are reviewed.

mechanisms, obtained through recent experimental and numerical modelling work, are Also included is an assessment of the utility of the

mitigation, and assessment, over the last

is report is a critical, technical review of advances in gun barrel erosion research, een years. Known and postulated erosion

for defence applications in Australia. follows.

various erosion modelling and experimental techniques, and notes on their possible use

A summary of key topics covered in the review

erosive, however this is not always true. A signi where erosion does not increase with is some con

In the past it is has been commonly held that ho

by propellant gas species has been the primary determinant of erosivity Although there .

ame temperature, and chemical a

cant number of cases have been reported

er-burning gun propellants are more ack of the bore

mon LOVA propellants are more erosive than equivalent conventional propellants. Many eral investigators that RDX is highly chemically erosive.

icting evidence in the literature, it is generally accepted that the most com-

LOVA propellant formulations contain RDX, and it has been convincingly shown by sev-

resulting propellant combustion gases, rich in nitrogen, act to re-nitride bore surfaces ness, increased resistance to melting, and reduced chemical erosion. during ring and inhibit erosive surface reactions. e result is increased bore hard-

RDX content and introducing nitrogen-rich energetic binder or

New, experimental low-erosivity LOVA propellants have been produced by reducing ller compounds. e

compromise between performance, sensitiveness and erosivity must be reached in these cases.

development, the majority possess impetus and

hydrogen-assisted cracking of the bore surface. Of the high-nitrogen propellants under

gen concentration in the combustion gas of some of these propellants may also reduce ame temperatures lower than RDX: a

e lowered hydro-

microcracks in the coatings, present from the time of manufacture, propagate due to pressure and thermal stress cycling and eventually reach the gun steel substrate.

for barrels coated with protective refractory metals.

Signi

cant e

ort has recently been directed at understanding the erosion mechanisms e most plausible mechanism is that

merical modelling and analysis of eroded barrels, a number of investigators have shown

rough nu-

iii

DSTOTR1757

of coating are subsequently removed by the

peratures cause pi

that once cracks reach the substrate, chemical erosion, gas wash, and high interfacial teming of the substrate and eventually undermine the coating. Segments ow or engagement with the projectile, and

at this point the erosion rate of coated barrels may exceed that of steel barrels. A number of be of ways to mitigate this erosion pathway have been suggested, including: development er coating techniques to avoid the initial microcracks, pre-nitriding the gun steel

chromium, the erosion resistance of refractory metal coatings varies amongst di propellant gas chemistry environments.

Modelling and experiments have additionally shown that, with the notable exception of erent

trolled barrel storage and post-

before coating to slow substrate erosion, introducing a protective interlayer, and conring treatment to prevent oxidation of exposed substrate.

have been identi

Due to very good wear characteristics and thermal resistance, ceramic barrel liners

ity of ceramics to fracture, driven by stress induced by the di

ed as a promising technology for some time. However the susceptibilerent thermal expansion

properties of steel and ceramics, have prevented their widespread use. New functionally

the ceramic/metal interface, are being developed to address this issue. For small calibres, fabrication of entire barrels using composite reinforced ceramics has been demonstrated.

graded ceramic-to-metal liners, which avoid an abrupt mismatch of thermal expansion at

can reduce erosion through cooling-layer e erosion.

ect the severity and distribution of erosion due to gas wash, and that combustible cases ects. Several investigators have shown that

Particularly for cooler propellants, it has been shown that charge arrangement can

propellant gas blow-by markedly increases heat transfer to the bore, and thereby thermal

elling of erosion, and two codes capable of simulating a broad range of erosion phenomof in-service gun barrels and laboratory experiments. In some cases, however, signi ena have been reviewed. Modelling results show reasonable agreement with the erosion calibration via input of experimental data was required to achieve this agreement. A truly cant

Over the last ten years there have been signi

cant advances in computational mod-

predictive and comprehensive erosion model, capable of supplanting experiment, does not yet exist. Nevertheless, in combination with experiment the existing computational erosion models have proved extremely useful in be er understanding how the various

erosion mechanisms act.

propellants, LOVA propellants, new and modi

Near term work in Australia will most likely focus on the erosion assessment of new ed charge designs, and new weapon sys-

gested that the limited resources available for research in this area are best directed tothe primary small-scale erosion research tool, but the questionable applicability of results to full-scale gun barrel erosion has previously restricted their usefulness.

tems. Since numerical erosion models require experimental validation anyway it is sug, wards establishing a modest experimental capability Vented vessel testing has long been . New vented

vessel testing methods, methodologies for the selection of appropriate and realistic test ni cantly alleviated this di culty however. , us a properly designed vented vessel test

conditions, and empirical relations designed to reconcile vessel and gun results, have sigrings, is recommended as the most e cient

approach to performing erosion research and assessment with restricted resources.

facility together with limited full-scale gun ,

iv

DSTOTR1757

Contents
Nomenclature vii

Introduction

Erosion Mechanisms . . . Chemical Erosion ermal Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mechanical Erosion .

Erosion Mitigation . . . . Alternative Propellant Formulations Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Surface Coatings and Liners . Novel Erosion Mitigation . .

Erosion Modelling and Prediction . . Empirical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Computational

Experimental Assessment Techniques

Conclusion

Appendices

Wear Calculations for the

Gun

DSTOTR1757

vi

DSTOTR1757

Nomenclature
APFSDS Armour Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot Cellulose Acetate Nitrate Cellulose Acetate Butyrate ected Zone

CAB

CAN CAZ

CFD EFC

Chemically A E

Computational Fluid Dynamics ective Full Charge ected Zone

HAZ KE LC

HAC

IWTC

Heat A

Hydrogen Assisted Cracking ermocouple

In-Wall

Kinetic Energy

LOVA OR

MOCVD

Metal-Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition Sonic Rarefaction Wave Low Recoil Gun Cyclotrimethylene Trinitramine Wear Coe Speci cient [m] or [m/s] Origin of Ri ing

Low Vulnerability Ammunition

Low Contractile

RDX

RAVEN

Nu

A cv d E f h I k m M

Molar Activation Energy [ J/mol] Convection Heat Transfer Coe Species Volume Fraction [%] cient [W/(m

Bore Diameter [m]

c Heat at Constant Volume [ J/(kg K)]

Propellant Impetus [ J/kg] Dynamic Viscosity [Pa s]

K)]

ermal Conductivity [W/(m K)]

Mass [kg]

P q R R

Nusselt Number Pressure [Pa]

Molecular Weight [kg/mol]

Density [kg/m ] Speci

Heat Flux [W/m ]

T t T u V w x

Re

Reynolds Number Temperature [K] Time [s]

Universal Gas Constant [ J/(mol K)]

c Gas Constant [ J/(kg K)]

max

Speed [m/s]

Maximum Bore Surface Temperature [K]

Axial distance [m]

Diametral Wear [m]

Volume [m ]

vii

DSTOTR1757

viii

DSTOTR1757

Introduction

Force: (i) barrel replacement costs over the lifespan of reduced operational e

e erosion of gun barrels in service leads to two problems for the Australian Defence elded weapon systems, and par-

ticularly those guns frequently operating in high performance ballistic regimes, and (ii) ectiveness due to variable gun performance and availability .

usually occurring near the origin of ri

Typical erosion rates are in the range of

in damage to the bore surface, and a bore diameter which progressively increases [ . m per ring [

e erosion of a gun barrel under normal

ring conditions is typically manifested

though it is usually less severe than that occurring at the OR [

the analogous location. Erosion of the bore near the muzzle end is also o ].

ing (OR) position or, for smooth-bore barrels, at en reported,

], with the worst damage

].

cles, may be reached before the barrel is eroded past condemning limits, obviating eromore benign e sion concerns. ects of progressive erosion, raises even greater concerns in this situation. e possibility of immediate catastrophic fatigue failure, rather than the

In some cases the rated fatigue life of a gun barrel, in terms of number of

ring cy-

Normally however, the rate of erosion exceeds the fatigue crack propagation rate [ , barrel is the M howi er cannon, which has a normal wear life of E howi e

and erosion is the driving factor in barrel retirement. An example of an erosion-limited EFC rounds, using a triple-base propelling

],

rounds and a fatigue limit of pellant [ ].

charge [

charge (EFC) rounds and a fatigue life of ]. In comparison, the M

ective full EFC e

condemning erosion limit can vary considerably between guns, primarily depending on accuracy and performance requirements: for some indirect . % [ % of bore diameter may be tolerable, but the tolerance for tank guns is tighter and typ]. For example the mm M re weapons, erosion of up to

e wear limits for these

EFC rounds, using a slightly cooler single-base promm guns are . and . mm respectively .

er has an expected wear life of

with high muzzle velocities usually wear fastest [ rounds [ gun, operating at a ]. It has also long been assumed and o

ically in the range

]. As would be intuitively expected, high performance guns EFC

m/s muzzle velocity has a normal wear life as low as ,

tank

more erosion than do similarly-performing cooler-burning propellants. Although this is en true, there are signi cant exceptions which will be discussed later in this report.

en observed that hot propellants cause

primarily set to ensure the e e e

Barrel erosion is unlikely to cause catastrophic failure, and thus condemning limits are ects of an eroded bore may include [ , ]:

ects of erosion on gun performance do not become excessive.

range and range accuracy loss, directional stability loss and resultant dispersion, fuze malfunctions, excessive torsional impulse (ri propellant gas blow-by , reduction in barrel fatigue life, ed barrels),

DSTOTR1757

ness.

excessive muzzle

ash, and

increased blast overpressure. ective-

Some of these consequences have the potential to markedly reduce operational e

ferent chemical composition,

charges means that it is likely that new propellants will be introduced to service.

sensitiveness for munitions already in service.

tained.

ammunition (LOVA) for all new explosive ordnance procurement, unless a waiver is obIn addition, an implementation plan will be developed to address the issue of e resulting move to LOVA propelling e dif-

defence instruction, Insensitive Munitions [

barrel erosion, it has recently received renewed a

Although the Australian Defence Force has long had to contend with the problem of ], has mandated the use of low vulnerability ention for several reasons. First, a new

rently encountered in existing systems.

upgraded systems will likely not exhibit the same erosive wear characteristics as is cur-

will result in new barrel, propelling charge and projectile con

Army howi

vice.

production of new propellants with di er

imminent upgrade of the ADI Mulwala propellant manufacturing facility may lead to the ird, procurement activities such as Land

propellants places increased emphasis on addressing the problem of erosion. Second, the

ame temperature and (usually higher) erosivity of LOVA

erent erosive behaviour to those already in ser(replacement or enhancement of the gurations.

eet) and MARAP (medium artillery replacement ammunition project)

ese new or

pability to model, predict, test, measure and understand the associated erosion processes eas at DSTO. becomes important. Unfortunately though, there has been li , Program (TTCP) ere was no active Australian participation in the Technical Cooperation Gun T ube Wear and Erosion research activities [

In the context of these gun and propelling charge replacements and upgrades, the cale recent work in these ar], for example. elds

One possible reason for the dearth of Australian work is a lack of resources to approach the complex, cross-discipline nature of gun barrel erosion research: it crosses the

of material science and metallurgy solid mechanics, compressible gas dynamics, chem, istry interior ballistics, heat transfer, and statistical mechanics. Nevertheless, there will , likely be a near-term requirement to establish at least basic erosion research competence to support the activities noted above.

numerical, empirical and experimental approaches to gun barrel erosion research, with been thoroughly reviewed by Ahmad [ omi a view to their practical use by Defence in Australia. Research prior to ] and Bracuti [ ] for example and it is not the is report will focus on material has already

e aim of this report, then, is to describe and assess the current state of analytical,

intention of this report to re-examine the same ground. Section

ed from these reviews, and work that has been conducted since their publication.

methods. With the background established, Sections ment.

erosion, will be addressed.

gas species, the existence of protective species, and the e Section

Disagreements in the literature, including the relative erosivity of the various propellant ect of

scription of insights obtained through the most recent experimental and modelling work.

begins with a review of known and postulated erosion mechanisms, and a de-

continues with a discussion of erosion mitigation and

ame temperature on

utility of modern approaches to erosion modelling, prediction and experimental assess-

go on to critically assess the

DSTOTR1757

Erosion Mechanisms

ing the erosion processes to the various associated scienti

and mechanical.

Conventionally gun barrel erosion mechanisms are categorized as chemical, thermal ,

e categorization is fairly arbitrary and probably of most use for assign, c disciplines. It is important to

erode barrels. Chemical processes include carburizing or oxidizing reactions at the bore gas species into the gun steel and subsurface reactions also occur. include bore surface phase changes, so surface, resulting in ablation and inferior material properties. Di usion of propellant ermal mechanisms

realize, though, that the categories are tightly coupled to each other and act in concert to

expansion and contraction associated with thermal cycling. Mechanical erosion may be caused by the direct impingement of gas and solid particulate gation due to ballistic pressure cycles, are also contributors. e shearing action of the ow, removal of material by driving bands, and crack propa-

ening and melting, as well as cracking due to

ow on the bore surface.

2.1

Chemical Erosion
e combustion of solid propellant in a gun typically produces carbon monoxide, car-

searchers have produced species erosivity correlations through analysis of large sets of mine and understand the chemical reaction pathways which aid or hinder the erosion process. experimental rings. Others, though, have approached the problem by trying to deter-

possible to reduce erosion by modifying the solid propellant composition. s

particular formulation. By establishing the erosive action of these gaseous species, it is

bon dioxide, hydrogen, water vapour and nitrogen, in proportions which depend on the

Some re-

action of

duced by Lawton. His original correlation [ di erent propellants in

Two semi-empirical correlations relating gas species to erosion levels have been proguns with uncoated barrels. Further data was later ] was based on over

observations of the

incorporated, resulting in an updated correlation based on that diametral wear per round should be of the form binations [

]. For the original correlation, Lawton provides a physically-based argument

gun and propellant com-

w = A exp(bT
bore surface hardness, and where

max

),

ring, b is a constant related to the A depends on the propellant gas composition. Multiple linear regression of the experimental data resulted in the de nition of A, in metres, as

max

is the maximum bore temperature during

A = exp(0.23 f CO2 + 0.27 f CO + 0.28 f H2 O + 0.74 f H2 + 0.16 f N2 + 1.55 f R 31.36),

where

products. From this correlation it appears that, next to the dissociated products, H 2 is the the most erosive species, however CO2 and H2 O (rather than N2 ) are calculated as the caution should be used in applying the study . least erosive. e variation in the correlation as a function of the sample set indicates that t to propellants that were not included in the most erosive gas species and

is the volume fraction of each species in percent, and

f R represents the dissociated

N2

the least. In Lawton updated correlation H2 remains s

DSTOTR1757

noted that the erosivity coe

composition of the propellant gas. Upon analysing the original correlation, Kimura [ square root of the inverse of its molecular weight cient of a species

While useful, Lawton correlations do not explain why erosivity is dependant on the s

a species is a function of a similar quantity , species concentration in transfer from the gas to the bore surface.

uence erosion primarily through corresponding changes in heat

1/Mi . Because heat conductivity of T/Mi , Kimura postulates that variations in

was approximately proportional to the

estimates that the relative contribution of chemical erosivity to the total erosivity for each species is ordered as [ ]:

Kimura proceeds to separate the thermal and chemical e

ects of gas composition, and

CO2 > CO > H2 O > H2 > 0 > N2

where diatomic nitrogen is suggested to have a chemically protective in ability propellant, which will be further discussed in Section . . uence.

results were used by Kimura to develop low erosivity high nitrogen content, low vulner,

ese

la

rection, from the bore surface into the barrel material, results in interstitial atoms in the point of the gun steel. bri

processes.

lower melting point compounds, which are easily removed by thermal and mechanical Second, rapid thermally-driven di usion [

First, surface reactions between the hot gas species and the bore material produce weaker,

e propellant gas species are thought to cause erosion by two di

erent processes.

] of gas species in the radial di-

ice of the bore metal, thereby altering the structure, physical properties and melting leness, which is more susceptible to erosion [ e chemically a ].

e result is typically a material of reduced strength and increased

trated by cracks [

to as the white-layer, is of the order of one to tens of microns deep [ ]. ].

ected zone or layer (CAZ/CAL) of the barrel material, o

been reported to be a function of the thickness of the CAZ [

As would be intuitively expected, chemically driven erosion has ermal e

] and o

en referred

en pene-

white layer and thus also have a bearing on the formation of the CAZ. Heating of the CAZ fecting not only the virgin barrel material but also the reaction product species. drives phase changes, melting, crack formation, speed of di

be discussed in the next section, penetrate much deeper into the barrel material than the

ects, as will

usion and reaction rates, af-

sitic phases [

including iron carbides, oxides, nitrides and retained steel in both austentitic and marten]. In contrast, the inner layer primarily contains carbon and nitrogen pre]. ]. It is speculated that formation of the

layers.

e CAZ is sometimes observed to be composed of distinct outer and inner white e so-called outer layer contains the bulk of products from the surface reactions,

inner layer precedes the outer [

cipitates distributed through retained austenite [

established through metallurgical examinations, including electron microscopy and spectroscopy [ nations suggest what reactions may be occurring, they do not de ments [ exact nature of the reaction pathways. Numerical modelling [ , , , ]. ough the produced species visible in these postnitively establish the

e described characteristics of the CAZ and the species contained within it have been ring exami-

tainty in the literature as to which reactions induce the most erosion. cited chemical processes are now discussed.

] have helped to suggest the most likely pathways, but there remains uncere most commonly

] and targeted experi-

DSTOTR1757

Carburization
e carbon-containing propellant combustion products CO and CO 2 provide mon, ]

atomic carbon at the hot gas-bore interface via reactions such as [

2CO = C + CO2 ,
CO

and

( (

) )

= C + O,

steel, excess carbon may precipitate out of solution upon cooling of the barrel. precipitates as iron carbide compounds [ ] through reactions such as

lution with the gun steel. Although carburizing acts to increase the surface hardness of

with the resulting carbon subsequently di

using into the barrel and forming a solid soe carbon

3Fe + 2CO = Fe3 C + CO2 .

that Fe2 C, Fe5 C2 and Fe20 C9 compounds can also be produced [ ].

Although Fe3 C (cementite) is the most commonly cited carbide formed, there is evidence creases the bri leness of the bore surface and lowers its melting point (by ], a er a few ballistic cycles the concentration of di K [

e cementite in-

ing to Lawton [

rendering the material vulnerable to removal by thermal and mechanical means. Accordring, still more di

]),

a steady-state. As a proportion of the CAZ is eroded during each of depth and keeping the size of the CAZ constant. Turley and coworkers [

used species reaches le as a function

sion will occur, rendering a relatively steady species concentration pro

u-

surface melting could assist faster carbon di

point of the surface material could be lowered by initial solid di

tially melted surface. Turley postulates that both mechanisms could occur: the melting usion into the liquid phase. usion, and any resulting

means that carbon enrichment must occur through propellant gas interaction with a par-

a purely solid state process, while others conclude that the slowness of solid di

process. Some researchers believe that the di

] report disagreement regarding the physics of the di

usion of carbon into the steel can occur as usion

usion

ues for a long period a the already di

ers [

Further support for the theory of solid di ]. er combustion

Conroy supposes that, although slow, subsurface di

usion is provided by Conroy and coworkus

when the barrel temperature is again raised in a subsequent

nishes and surface reactions freeze out.

usion of carbon contin-

the importance of the di

species and continues to react, presumably forming iron carbides, and thereby amplifying usion process.

used carbon is brought out of chemical equilibrium with the surrounding

ring, Conroy argues that

Oxidation
Oxygen from the propellant gas species may act to di use into the metal surface and

oxidize it, in a process analogous to the formation of cementite. Depending on the environment produced by a particular propellant type and barrel material combination, iron tions such as [ ] at the bore surface may act to reduce the oxygen rich combustion species through reacFe

+ CO2 = FeO + CO

DSTOTR1757

the generated oxide layer and the una

at the gas-metal interface initially and subsequently at the subsurface interface between , scale layer, highly susceptible to cracking and erosion [ oxidation may lower the surface melting point by thermal erosion also. A di ected metal [ ]. ]. e iron oxide forms a bri

K [

For uncoated steel barrels, ], thereby encouraging

le

same reaction:

forward by Kimura [

erent pathway for the formation of both FeO and Fe3 C in the CAZ has been put , ]. is involves the formation of iron carbides and oxides in the

4Fe + CO = FeO + Fe3 C, 5Fe + CO2 = 2FeO + Fe3 C.

and

( (

) )

that the exothermicity gives a temperature boost which assists in the melting of the prodlants tend to produce more CO2 than CO, thereby favouring Reaction tive to Fe3 C. with Reaction . Hence, by stoichiometry ho , ucts and their subsequent removal from the surface. According to Kimura, ho

alent of approximately half the heat of combustion of his propellants [

Kimura reports that both of these reactions are strongly exothermic, producing the equiv-

]. It is supposed er propel-

as a key determinant of the CAZ composition; Kimura postulated mechanism would s appear to support this.

ame temperature, the propellant gas CO/CO2 ratio has historically been cited [

is result is consistent with the observations of other researchers. Together

er propellants should generate more FeO rela-

in preference to

by Seiler and coworkers [

Metallographic investigations of steel exposed to

propellant formulation. Using a single-base propellant, Seiler observed per shot, with a carburization depth of ring. pellant, oxidation occurred and most of the oxide layer ( ], showed slightly di . .

], serve as a good example of the dependency of erosion on m. In contrast, when using a double-base pro. m of erosion

rings in a

mm test gun, reported

double-base results, they report a white layer ( layer ( .

Schneebaum and Gany [

Experiments in a vented combustor with a variety of propellants, conducted by

m) was eroded during each

erent results. Like Seiler and coworkers m thick) containing an oxidized subring. However, they also report

coworkers examination of an eroded Australian had been used. been retired due to erosion a ey found li er ring

An example somewhat contradictory to Kimura postulate is provided by Turley and s EFCs, and relatively hot triple-base propellant mm tank barrel. e barrel had

carburization throughout the whole white layer and even deeper into the barrel steel.

m thick) which is mostly removed during

wiping of cementite was the most likely cause of erosion in their specimen.

le evidence of oxidation, and concluded that melting and

Hydrogen Erosion, Embri

lement and Cracking

the dominant erosive species. Some of the earliest proponents of hydrogen erosion were Alkidas and coworkers [ combustion water vapour. It was originally suggested that iron on the bore surface could react with water to form gaseous FeOH2 , thereby vaporizing the steel [ ], who proposed that gun steel could be a

of chemical erosion [

Although majority opinion is that carburization and oxidation account for the bulk , ], a signi

cant number of researchers believe that hydrogen is acked by post]. It is possible

DSTOTR1757

that carburization may act to enhance this e species di

ing additional water, and thus increase FeOH2 production.

uses into the barrel, the remaining oxygen could be scavenged by H 2 , produc-

ect. A

er carbon from the CO and CO 2 gas

drogen gas ranked as the most erosive species. We have also seen that Kimura explanas gen is six times higher than nitrogen, for example [ atomic hydrogen di ing bri tion is that the e

We have already seen that Lawton correlation, based on s

ring data, has diatomic hy-

ect is primarily one of heat transfer: the thermal conductivity of hydro-

gen erosivity by reference to a study by Krishnan and coworkers [

]. Lawton, however, explains hydro], who concluded that

Carburization increases the hardness of steel at the expense of simultaneously increaserosion due to increased bri leness. As already discussed, most researchers hold that carburization promotes leness and cracking, allowing mechanical and thermal re].

uses into the barrel, reacts with carbon, and decarburizes the steel.

moval. However, the argument here is that it is decarburization which promotes erosion, by excessive so ening of the bore surface [

cite Troiano [ s

Sopok and coworkers a

tial hydrogen in the gun steel la and promote bri le failure.

] work on hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC): the presence of interstiFurther, when hydrogen is adsorbed through an existing ice reduces its strength and ductility cause cracking, ,

ribute still other erosive processes to hydrogen [

].

ey

duced. It is also thought that atomic hydrogen may migrate along a crack until reaching its lowest energy state at the vulnerable crack tip [ by Sopok [ ] for test cases including a generic howi

unoxidized crack surface, the surface energy required for the crack to propagate is re]. Numerical modelling performed er and generic tank gun indicantly increased by the

addition of lubricants. Dissociation of diatomic hydrogen to monatomic hydrogen, due to localized adiabatic compression (and thus heating) of the propellant gas by focussed pressure waves, is also noted as a contributor. Interestingly Sopok discounts the gaseous , ects. Development of sto-

cates that hydrogen availability in the barrel environment is signi

hydrogen richness and relieving the problem.

ichiometric propellant-lubricant combinations are suggested as a way of decreasing the

water-surface reactions cited by other researchers, as subtle e

Protective E

ects of Nitrogen

is either minimally erosive, or has a protective e even though their Kimura [ transfer e ects.

ere is unambiguous agreement in the literature that nitrogen in the propellant gas

lants, Lawton found that those containing more N2 and less H2 tended to be less erosive, ] calculates that it is a chemically protective species a ame temperatures were higher [ ]. Likewise, base on Lawton data, s er accounting for heat

ect. Over a sample set of thirteen propel-

the surface. Nitriding may also occur during steel from the hot propellant gas [ very short time during

Pre-nitriding of gun barrels during manufacture helps reduce erosion by hardening ring, via nitrogen di

nitrogen content propellants [

high nitrogen concentration (

that used in the pre-nitriding process. Hirvonen and coworkers recently reported %) near the surface of gun steel exposed to ].

ring, the barrel surface temperature is signi

]. Although the barrel is exposed to hot nitrogen for a cantly higher than nding

usion into the gun

ey also noticed that combustion-induced nitriding

rings of high

DSTOTR1757

tended to reduce erosion. In addition to improving hardness, increased di may raise the melting point of the surface material.

used nitrogen

environments or nitrogen-air mixtures [

Experiments have shown that the white layers of the CAZ do not form in pure nitrogen ]. Conroy [

nitrogen content of propellant gases may inhibit CO and CO 2 dissociation, reducing the availability of carbon, and by this means mitigating carburization.

] has proposed that increasing the

Other Chemical E

ects
ash and also found in some Some researchers claim ere is disagreement,

igniter formulations, may also have a bearing on barrel erosion. though, as to whether this additive aids or moderates erosion. that potassium sulphate acts to reduce chemical erosivity [ point approximately ].

Potassium sulphate, commonly used to suppress muzzle

sulphur is absorbed by the barrel material and forms iron suphide, which has a melting K lower than gun steel, thus assisting thermal erosion [ ].

Others believe that the

with particular coating materials, but these will be addressed in Section

ere are also numerous chemical e

ects associated with the interaction of propellants . .

2.2

Thermal Erosion
ame temperature propellants may produce combustion gases at temperatures K [ ].

exposure to these gases is dependant on several heat transfer and

as high as

High

e bore surface and subsurface temperatures resulting from ow processes. Con]. e

will be discussed in more detail in Section

conditions that transfer orders of magnitude more heat to the surface [ . .

Additionally blow-by (gas leakage) of propellant gas past the projectile may induce , ,

both heat transfer and the introduction of chemically reactive gas species to the surface. ow

boundary layer formed in the wake of the moving projectile is turbulent [

vective heat transfer through the gas boundary layer is the primary mechanism [

], enhancing

]. Blow-by

fer may also occur [

Besides convection, heating due to the sliding friction of the round and radiative trans-

the chamber or in the early part of the barrel. Downstream, temperatures are reduced and solid particles entrained in the boundary layer may absorb some of the radiation [ ].

ture (proportional to

T 4 ), it is of most signi

]. Because heating due to radiation is a strong function of tempera-

cance for hot propellants and at locations near e

stream from the OR, a

the temperature may for example, only reach a maximum of , er signi

surface at the OR may rise to temperatures of the order

high temperatures of combustion exist for only a few milliseconds, and so while the bore K [ K, at a depth of ,

perienced are much lower. pro le [ ,

versus axial location, must be considered together to determine a gun thermal erosion s ]. For guns with a high

Hence peak temperature, exposure time, and temperature

cant gas expansion has occurred, peak temperatures ex-

]. Further down-

mm

up due to the limited cooling period between shots must be taken into account [

ring rate, and especially machine guns, heat build

to the cumulative heating.

er a projectile leaves the gun barrel, residual heating during the blow-down phase adds

]. Even

DSTOTR1757

T able

: Typical onset temperatures for some erosion-related phenomena [ 1 000 K 1 050 K 1 270 K 1 420 K 1 470 K 1 640 K 1 720 K 2 000 K 2 130 K 2 130 K 2 741 K 2 883 K 3 269 K 3 453 K 3 683 K Austenite phase transformation of gun steel Oxidation of iron Sulphidation of iron Melting point of iron carbide Melting point of iron sulphide Melting point of iron oxide Melting point of gun steel Oxidation of chromium Sulphidation of chromium Melting point of chromium Melting point of niobium Melting point of molybdenum Melting point of tantalum Melting point of rhenium Melting point of tungsten

at the OR is approximated by an exponential function of maximum bore temperature count.

We have already seen via Lawton original correlation (Equation s Lawton improved correlation [ s

) that erosive wear

Tmax .

absence of changes in propellant gas composition, for gun steel of typical hardness a increase in

In both cases, though, the temperature dependence of erosion is strong.

] goes further by taking exposure time into acIn the %

Tmax

results in an increase in erosion of

% [

].

atures, it is o

Since high

the bore depends on parameters additional to

propellants [

is commonly assumed that erosion will be reduced by developing low , ]. is is not necessarily true. ame temperature.

en reported in the literature that hot propellants are highly erosive.

ame temperature propellant formulations may lead to high bore temperame temperature ect of propellant us it

First, the quantity of heat conducted to e e

a shorter ballistic cycle time and reduced charge weight. processes described in Section . in

example, plays a part in the determination of

gas composition on the heat transfer rate through the boundary layer to the surface, for

Tmax .

Second, hot propellants may require ird, the chemical reaction cient

uence wear through the coe

A in Equation

erosion has been observed. erosion. In this case,

In a number of practical cases, an inverse relationship between Izod and Baker [

propellants of the same impetus, decreasing the

] reported that for

ame temperature and

than thermally erosive [ ,

these and other results it appears that RDX is highly and principally chemically rather , propellant is lower than that of M . ]. Conroy and coworkers [ , although the

ame temperature was reduced by the addition of extra RDX. From ] point out that the erosivity of

ame temperature resulted in increasing

ve RDX-containing

impetus, than existing LOVA and conventional propellants.

with signi

as will be discussed in Section

cantly lower erosivities, but higher

, Kimura has developed experimental LOVA propellants ame temperatures and higher or similar

ame temperature is higher. And

DSTOTR1757

mal erosion. In the so-called melt-wipe process, the bore surface material is melted and the liquid is wiped away through the mechanical action of solid particles entrained in the propellant gas ow or by the ow itself. As shown in Table the melting point of

ere are several physical processes identi

ed in the literature as responsible for ther-

enable signi

peratures [

material is unlikely to occur, and that signi ]. It is possible that thermal so

gun steel is quite high, and many researchers have pointed out that full melting of virgin ening of the surface, though, is su

cant erosion can be observed at lower temalso lists the melt. . cient to

ing points of products of the gas-surface chemical reactions described in Section process than gun steel [

cant mechanical erosion in the absence of melting. Table

lower melting points of these compounds render them more vulnerable to the melt-wipe of erosion in Turley study of the Australian s mm tank gun [

]. Surface melting of Fe3 C was determined as the primary cause ]. Strictly though, this ,

process represents thermochemical rather than pure thermal erosion.

Heating of the gun steel induces a phase change to austenite at relatively low temperatures (see Table austenite is retained [ tion of quench cracks. ). Upon cooling, untempered bri

Heat checking of barrels is a well-known and purely thermal erosion process [

].

ated phase changes, the disparate volumes of each phase results in stress and the formae cracked surface is then vulnerable to mechanical removal, and ack [ ].

]. As the barrel experiences temperature cycles with the associ-

le martensite is formed and some

may also occur, and is referred to as pebbling.

hundred microns [

thermally altered layer (also known as the heat a ].

the austenite phase is reportedly more prone to chemical a

e combination of heat checking and partial melting of the CAZ Interestingly it has been reported that , ].

ected zone, HAZ) is typically a few

e depth of this

oxides in the CAZ may insulate the gun steel and reduce thermal erosion, providing the ame temperature of the propellant is below the melting point of the oxides [

shock may assist the hydrogen cracking process (Section

thermal shock. Cote [

expansion causing cracking. A bri

cool barrel core may present a thermal shock [

Finally the sudden presence of a steep temperature gradient from the bore to the , le and weak CAZ may be particularly vulnerable to . ) at ambient temperature.

], with the resulting disparity in thermal

] suspects that, upon cooling, residual tensile stress from thermal

2.3

Mechanical Erosion
ention in

cause thermal erosion. At higher temperatures, the three mechanisms act concurrently .

temperature

the literature.

Of the erosion processes, mechanical erosion perhaps receives the least a rings [ ], where there is insu

It has been cited as most the most dominant erosion mechanism for low

cient heat to drive chemical reactions or

tion of loosely packed oxides may cause an expansion e material during ring [ ].

removal by mechanical means [

e degraded mechanical properties of the CAZ (white layer) make it susceptible to , ect. If the expansion is su cient

]. For barrels with coated bores, subsurface produc-

to raise the coating or bore surface, the projectile will engage it and remove the protruding

is enough to remove material from a cracked, degraded or thermally-so

Even without a raised surface, the shear force introduced by sliding friction alone

ened surface.

DSTOTR1757

a polyamide plastic driving band caused least erosion. Tombac (copper alloy) and plasticband material. e di erences in performance were signi cant, with a ve-fold di

iments were conducted with di

not being subject to erosion by sliding friction or mechanical engagement). erent driving band materials.

bore surface with that occurring at recessed grooves in the barrel (the recessed areas

and coworkers [

ere have been a number of studies conducted to investigate this kind of erosion. Seiler

] conducted experiments to compare the magnitude of erosion at the e exper-

eir results showed that

breglass bands did not perform as well, and sintered iron was the most erosive driving er-

copper from copper driving bands may become entrapped in bore surface cracks. If there is poor obturation, this e lant gases [ ]. lement [ e e

ence in erosivity between the polyamide and iron bands. It has also been reported that

metal embri

ect of the entrapped copper is to facilitate further cracking by liquid ]. Wear due to excessive engraving stress between ri ].

ect may be exacerbated by melting of the band by hot propel-

band, has also been noted [

ing and

solid particles entrained within it, by virtue of momentum, are also classi ical erosion. Signi ring can create je ing, thereby exacerbating erosive ow e

Abrasion, sweeping and washing actions of the propellant gas

ow including any

cant leakage of high-pressure propellant gas past the projectile during ] calculated the blow-by ey found that at ow was

ed as mechan-

ulation, Andrade and coworkers [ mm cannon using an XM

ects. Using numerical sim-

rel and projectiles with and without obturators and driving bands. charge. .

ow between a worn barm downstream from the e test case was a

OR, heating of the bore surface by blow-by of the projectile base. Due to di

(with obturator and band) times greater than that at datum points slightly upstream

(without obturator and band) to

rator and band present, the smaller gap increases the near-wall temperature gradient of the by

the two cases are not strictly comparable. Nevertheless it is suggested that, with the obtuow and thus increases heat transfer. Andrade additionally proposes that the blow-

erences in the datum point selection Andrade states that

wear.

ow contributes to projectile instability causing balloting and muzzle-end mechanical ,

experiments using a

e e

ect of blow-by on erosion has been observed by Lawton and Laird [

red, they observed a short-duration temperature pulse at the OR indicative of blow-by . e resulting temperature rise was calculated to locally increase erosion by . %.

mm cannon and vented vessel. In approximately half of rounds

] during

Using numerical simulation to correlate vented vessel tests with these results, it was conshort-duration heat transfer was observed in temperature to melting point. cluded that the temperature rise corresponds to a leakage diameter of % of red rounds, raising the bore surface mm. Intense

tests, and Lawton suggests tearing of surface micro-welds by sliding friction as a possible (though untested) explanation.

is was unable to be correlated with the vented vessel

another means of mechanical erosion. Crack orientation has been identi allow gas to rameter. Conroy and coworkers [

e interaction of the interior ballistic

ow

eld and cracks in the bore surface present

surface.

the Newtonian force of the

gas has more time to transfer heat and reactants to the sides and the tip of the crack, and ow and particulates against the exposed, perpendicular face

In contrast, cracks oriented radially engender gas recirculation.

ow in and out of the crack without excessive additional heating of the crack Recirculating

] note that longitudinal cracks, aligned with the

ed as a key pa-

ow,

DSTOTR1757

hypothesized by Conroy .

of the crack wall may widen it. For coated barrels, crack-related pressure spalling is also ring, with retarded gas out

e idea here is that the crack voids are pressurized during ow occurring upon blow-down and pressure relief. Flow

ejection of surface plates from below. Sopok and coworkers [ a retired specimen. mm M ,

choking at the crack mouth is thought to occur, thus retaining pressure and causing the

gun barrel, comparing their numerical modelling results with analysis of ey found that the vena-contracta e uence on the interior ballistic oweld,

] have investigated erosion due to

ow-

eld e

ects in a

as a converging nozzle) had an appreciable in a development was a

ect of the forcing-cone (acting

ecting the location at which worst erosion occurred in the barrel. Also, boundary layer ected by the use of combustible-case ammunition.

produced by burning of the cases was found to stay near the wall as a laminar boundwork, Sopok [ pa ary layer, reducing heat transfer until becoming turbulent further downstream. In later was suggested that erosive ] noted an interaction between ow may serve to blunt crack tips and, depending on the oweld characteristics and cracks. It

e cooler gas

correlate with crack depth.

this reason, according to Sopok, the erosion pro

ern generated inside the barrel, does so unevenly as a function of axial position. For

ow

le within a barrel does not necessarily

Erosion Mitigation

means for combating erosion.

Section

Many of the mechanisms by which erosion is thought occur have been described in . e primary erosion mitigation tools are broadly: develop-

e understanding of these processes has lead to the development of various

sented, with an emphasis on two issues topical to the ADF: erosivity of LOVA propellants, and the use of barrel coatings for high performance guns.

In the following subsections more recent research in erosion mitigation techniques is pre-

and for developments prior to

and erosion-reducing additives and lubricants. Many of these methods are well-known the reader is referred to existing reviews [ , ,

ment of less erosive propellants; the use of coatings, treated barrel materials and liners;

].

3.1

Alternative Propellant Formulations

. , chemical erosivity is primarily dependent on the propellant gas ].

composition, which is a function of the solid propellant formulation. Small formulation changes can greatly alter the erosive behaviour of a propellant [ erosivity depends on the quantity of heat produced and the e

To recap Section

transported to the bore surface. Consider the de

ciency with which it is

Likewise, thermal

by a propellant,

nition of impetus,

I , used to gauge the propulsive energy provided

( )

I = RT f = RT f /M,
c gas constant,

where

propellant

is the speci

ame temperature, and

M is the molecular weight of the propellant gas mix-

is the universal (molar) gas constant,

Tf

is the

DSTOTR1757

propellant formulation to reduce Equation tivity e

ture.

If chemical erosivity and thermal conductivity are invariant, then modifying the

molecular weight is lowered. Simplistically then, in the absence of chemical and conducects, propellants producing low molecular weight gases would seem favourable ects do vary signi ]. In practice, however, chemical erosivity and thermal cantly and may outway the utility of low molecular

, equivalent performance from a cooler propellant can only be achieved if

ame temperature should reduce thermal erosivity By .

from an erosion standpoint [ conductivity e

is still useful for propellant design. For example, when comparing N 2 and CO gases, their equal molecular weight gives them equal utility as far as the impetusrelationship is concerned. us formulations that produce more N 2 gas, with its lower ]. ame temperature

weight propellant gases. Hydrogen gas is the prime example. Nevertheless, Equation

chemical erosivity would be preferred outright to those producing more CO [ ,

molar N2 content by as much as comparison to be made. e ho

in an uncoated M

tional JA

ects of nitrogen content and cannon.

Conroy and coworkers conducted numerical experiments to gauge the simultaneous -like propellants, with ame temperature on erosion [ e ame temperatures varying over the range ]. ey analysed four

ame temperature was reduced by increasing relative

K,

c-

grain geometry and charge mass to give consistent gun performance, thus allowing a fair est propellant required In spite of the reduced charge, ame temperature/reduced ni K. % less charge mass to obtain

%. Ballistic equivalence was maintained by altering

the same performance as the coolest propelling charge. trogen propellants.

they still found a marked increase in erosion for the high

e relationship was strongest over the range

on nitrocellulose. ers [ ,

portedly showed that RDX propellant formulations were more erosive than those based Ahmad also states that nitramines (a class including RDX) are o en

propellants, for example, may contain up to

LOVA propellants are the RDX composites; RDX-cellulose acetate butyrate (RDX-CAB) % RDX [ ]. Work by Caveny [

sivity of these o

e trend towards use of LOVA charges raises associated concerns regarding the eroen ho er burning and more erosive propellants. A popular group of

] re-

more erosive than nitrocellulose equivalents. More recent work by Hordk and cowork], however, has failed to con rm these generalisations. In vented vessel tests, ame temperature versus erosivity trend

they found that RDX-based LOVAs exhibited a

similar to conventional, nitrocellulose-based, single, double and triple base propellants. ese experiments may have been adversely a

pressures and the possibility of signi

conventional propellants conformed to the same heat of explosion-erosion relationship. Seiler does not, however, reveal the composition of the tested LOVA propellants.

ments using a gun test-bed, Seiler and coworkers [

cant heat leakage into the vessels. Based on experi-

ected, however, by relatively low test ] similarly found that both LOVA and

is primarily due to the relatively high concentration of hydrogen gas it produces upon combustion. As discussed in Section erosive species [ ]. A typical CAB-LOVA produces .

changes has been published by Kimura [

An excellent case study of reducing LOVA propellant erosivity through formulation

]. Kimura believes that the erosivity of RDX

hydrogen is thought to be a highly chemically % hydrogen by volume, and Kimura % is more desirable. e reduction

same time, Kimura replaces the inert CAB binder with energetic cellulose acetate nitrate (CAN). is has the dual e

in hydrogen gas is achieved by signi

proposes that reducing this concentration to around

cantly reducing the propellant RDX content. At the s

ect of increasing the concentration of low-erosivity nitrogen

DSTOTR1757

gas in the combustion products, and replacing some of the energy lost by reducing RDX content. % TMETN as plasticizer. e resulting formulation, CAN-A LOVA, contains % CAN,

% RDX and

tests showed CAN-A A

base propellant, and a typical CAB-LOVA ( ame temperature and to be

e performance of CAN-A

is reported in reference to M % RDX, A

similar impetus.

was three times less erosive while having a

% higher impetus. In comparison to the CAB-LOVA, the CANK higher

% less erosive than the M

% CAB,

, while have a

% NC). Vented vessel K higher

, a conventional triple

comes at the cost of increased sensitiveness. Although be in terms of impact sensitiveness and cook-o was signi

e appealing erosion and performance characteristics of the CAN-A er than M A

ame temperature and , performance

cantly worse than CAB-LOVA.

search e

e CAN-RDX propellants are but one example of the considerable worldwide reort aimed at developing high-nitrogen low vulnerability propellants [ ]. e majority of high-nitrogen ller compounds identi ,

range of high-nitrogen marized by Odgers [

ller compounds and propellants have been reviewed and sumame temperature than RDX: thus a compromise

]. A

ever, possess lower impetus and lower

ed, how-

between performance, sensitiveness, and erosivity must be reached in these cases.

3.2

Additives
y years, a variety of additives to the propelling charge have been

used to mitigate gun barrel erosion. Common additives have included titanium dioxide these.

Over the last

(TiO2 ), talc (magnesium silicate H2 Mg3 [SiO3 ]4 ), wax, polyurethane, and a combination of wax coated on a rayon cloth [ pellant bed. e so-called Swedish additive, for example, is a mixture of titanium dioxide and ]. e additives are generally applied either between the

propelling charge and case, on the case closure plug, or dispersed throughout the proliterature since Bracuti s ere has been limited work on additive technology published in the open review [ ].

nology is not being conducted; commercial manufacturers [

at is not to say that research into additive tech] are developing and selling

customized, proprietary pastes to customers such as the US Army It is understandable . that developers of additives would be reluctant to publicly furnish details of how their research that has been published since Bracuti review, and some material omi s the review, is now presented.

commercial products work and what they are composed of.

Nevertheless, some of the

ed from

tional single- and double-base propellants [

Seiler and coworkers investigated the e

ectiveness of Swedish additive for conven] in a

arately performed with the additive inserted as a liner between the charge and chamber wall, and placed in tablet form at the base of the projectile. In both cases, a quantity of application methods, the Swedish additive signi %). e liner application was slightly more e % of the charge mass was used. For both propellants and both ective than the tablet. cantly reduced erosion (by around ermocouples at -

mm gun test bed. Trials were sep-

additive corresponding to

the barrel wall showed that the additive caused a reduction in heat transfer.

sion primarily by reducing heat transfer to the barrel, and this is supported by Seiler and

ere is general consensus in the literature that titanium dioxide acts to mitigate ero-

DSTOTR1757

coworkers Swedish additive results. Shelton [ are the correct size ( by up to life [ K. m) to

posed bore surface area which reduces heat transfer and can lower surface temperatures e reduction in peak bore temperature confers the additional bene

ll surface crevices, and it is the resulting reduction in ext

] reasons that titanium dioxide particles

of reducing crack propagation due to thermal cycling, thereby extending barrel fatigue inside the barrel. ]. Shelton notes that all additives of micron particle size show evidence of deposits

le

sion [

Lawton also agrees that Swedish additive primary action is to reduce thermal eros ].

ide forms an insulating layer between the propellant gas and bore surface, (ii) the additive absorbs heat from the the additive reduces turbulence in the boundary layer, thereby reducing convective heat transfer to the wall. However, he also notes Zimmer and Hankland [ s anisms by which Swedish additive may also reduce chemical erosion.

He cites three mechanisms through which this occurs: (i) the titanium dioxow boundary layer and thus lowers its temperature, and (iii) ] suggested meche oxygen result-

of the bore surface. der to be e

to form water and carbon dioxide, reducing hydrogen embri ective. In experiments using a

ing from titanium dioxide dissociation could react with hydrogen and carbon monoxide

ese reactions must occur in the boundary layer, however, in or% charge weight reduced heat transfer to the barrel by

lement and carburizing

Swedish additive equivalent to but the e ects.

mm gun, Lawton found that a quantity of

%. Build-up of additive between subsequent shots acted to reduce heat transfer further, ring of a shot without additive was found to immediately cancel any residual e use of a very small amount ( . % charge mass) of an alternative additive, a % while

sticky mixture of talc and silicon grease, was found to reduce heat transfer by simultaneously reducing blow-by . As noted in Section .

the

Hence a reduction in erosivity by chemical mechanisms is indicated. series Lawton also showed that reducing heat transfer to the surface of the test material. .

lent showed a four-fold reduction in wear, but no signi

ducted by Lawton [

ash-supressing additive potassium sulphate on erosion. ] using .

, there is disagreement in the literature as to the e

% potassium sulphate dispersed throughout the propelcant reduction in heat transfer. In the same test

Vented vessel tests con-

ects of

% talc reduced wear by a factor of two, primarily by

3.3

Surface Coatings and Liners

potential coatings, and proposed new coating application techniques. Conroy and coworkers [

at understanding the mechanisms of coating failure, performance assessment of known

than the development of new coating materials, recent work has mostly been directed

renewed, active research in this area over the last decade [

Although coatings have been used to protect barrels since World War II, there has been , , , , ,

]. Rather

] have proposed several criteria for a successful coating:

e coating should not react with the propellant gases. e coating should help insulate the base material from the heat load, distribute the

heating, and be resistant to thermal erosion.

DSTOTR1757

e coating must be resistant to mechanical wear from projectile passage. e coating must adhere well to the base material. e coating must have a coe cient of thermal expansion similar to that of the base

material to prevent thermal stress cracking.

e coating material and application method must be cost e

ective.

According to Conroy these myriad requirements may explain the paucity of new coatings , coating in elded guns, despite being originally developed over sixty years ago. Other

and application techniques. Electrodeposited chromium remains the most popular barrel coating and liner materials that are still being actively pursued as alternatives include tungsten.

ceramics, and refractory metals such as molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, rhenium and

position [

e most common commercial technique for chromium coating is aqueous electrode-

microcracks to form in the coating [ rial. Re

position and the subsequent heat treatment to outgas hydrogen, residual stress causes

], where chromium is initially deposited as chromium hydride. During de]. Usually the cracks do not penetrate through the

entire coating thickness, however, and a crack-free sublayer exists near the base mateLC chromium coatings exhibit fewer cracks and higher strength, , ]. Mawella [

chromium coatings.

nements to the process have lead to the development of low contractile (LC) ] reports that recent studies on

at the expense of reduced hardness [

pulsed electrodeposition have demonstrated that reduced cracking or crack-free coatings vapour deposition, via magnetron spu cannot be electrodeposited.

are possible. A number of other experimental coating methods are also cited. Physical

reportedly produce crack-free coatings and deposit a range of refractory metals which taining the coating material decomposes on the bore surface, is noted as producing highly uniform coatings. Conventional chemical vapour deposition requires high temperatures (over

ering or the use of an RF plasma discharge, can

Chemical vapour deposition, where a volatile vapour con-

proposes metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) as more amenable to gun barrel applications, which requires temperatures of als where barrels coated with chromium using MOCVD showed improved erosion resistance, compared to those coated with electrodeposited chromium. A more thorough description of these and other possible coating processes is contained in Reference [ ]. K or lower. He cites ring tri-

K) for decomposition, thus triggering phase changes in the gun steel. Mawella

patibility of di

rough numerical modelling and vented vessel tests, Sopok has assessed the comerent refractory metal coatings and propellant types [

to oxidizing, carburizing, and intermediate propellant gas environments. Erosivity was transformation, and reactions) initiated. In an oxidizing propellant gas environment, rhegauged by the threshold surface temperature at which erosive processes (melting, phase

and chromium, tantalum, molybdenum rhenium and niobium coatings were subjected

]. Bare gun steel,

and tantalum had the highest threshold, while the thresholds for gun steel and molybdenum were intermediate. In a carburizing environment, tantalum had the highest thresh-

nium and niobium had the lowest threshold (corresponding to most erosion), chromium

old temperature, followed by similar thresholds for chromium, molybdenum, rhenium and niobium, with gun steel performing worst. Chromium was the only material not to

DSTOTR1757

show a variation in threshold temperature between the di di

may explain its popularity as a coating material. For the other materials, the signi the need to match propelling charge to coating type.

erent environments, which cant

erence in threshold temperatures between the propellant gas environments highlights

ble for the variations are discussed at length by Sopok in the paper.

e chemical mechanisms responsi-

der them resistant to direct thermal, chemical and mechanical erosion. tures [ of chromium (Table ].

e high melting point, low reactivity and high hardness of coating materials ren), for example, is much higher than typical bore surface tempera]. Much a e melting point

erode at a faster rate than uncoated barrels [

Coated barrels still erode, however, and once erosion is initiated they may

to understanding the erosion process for coated barrels.

ention has recently been given

tached to the substrate, described by Cote and Rickard [ lated islands or plates of chromium.

form a network [

deeper until reaching the substrate material, and also propagate laterally to combine and ].

of manufacture.

As already noted, surface microcracks are present in chromium coatings from the time e pressure and thermal cycling of ring causes the microcracks to grow

e result is fragmented but contiguous coating elements still ate dimensions of these plates are of the same order ].

] as a series of separate, iso-

between cracks) than chromium. It is also determined that neither chrome nor tantalum and plastic strain are the most likely results of interfacial thermomechanical stress.

a number of assumptions,

an analytical treatment to calculate the spacing of such macroscopic cracks and, subject to

ence in thermal expansion of coating and substrate at the interface itself.

stresses are generated by direct loading from the barrel internal pressure, and the di

ory of macroscopic cracks caused by stresses at the coating-substrate interface [

as the coating depth. Conroy and coworkers contrast these microcracks with their the-

ese er-

ey formulate

nd that tantalum should show less cracking (a greater spacing

should fail by debonding from the gun steel; instead the analysis indicates that cracking

to erode. Jets of hot combustion gases wash through the crack, recirculate, react with the substrate, and cause pi Speci at the interface, oxides of refractory metal coatings may seed cracking in the substrate [ ]. ing via thermal and chemical erosion. It has been discovered that, ].

Once cracks in the coating have reached the substrate, the exposed gun steel begins

growth in the substrate compared to chromium [ Numerical modelling of a

cally Conroy and coworkers calculated that tantalum engenders more rapid pit ,

the interface encourages thermochemical erosion to traverse laterally under the coating, is undermined, and susceptible to removal by mechanical processes. engagement with the projectile or spallation [ . ). from the initial crack site, a acking the substrate material [ ].

it would have been at the identical depth for a steel-only barrel.

substrate faster.

chromium coatings lower bore surface temperature because they conduct heat to the us the temperature at the coating-gun steel interface is higher than e high temperature at

mm gun by Heiser and coworkers [

] showed that

Eventually the coating e small plates of

coating may simply li (see Section

out due to complete separation from the steel, or be removed by ] driven by choked high pressure gas [

posure, regardless of whether or not this actually occurs at the deepest crack sites [

in coated cannon barrels always correlates with interface degradation and substrate ex-

open cracks are the preferred site of plate loss [

Underwood and coworkers have experimentally observed that deep,

]. However, Sopok notes that erosion ].

DSTOTR1757

aged area per spot increases [

Hordk and Leurs have additionally observed that once erosion of a coated barrel begins, er further

rings the number of exposed spots tends to stay constant, while the dam-

lants [

fracture of the coating due to sliding forces may be more signi ].

the prime cause of erosion for high temperature propellants, Cote suggests that fatigue

]. While the described process is generally agreed to be cant for cooler propel-

newly exposed substrate gun steel [

and coworkers suggest that, a

Methods to prevent or reduce the undermining process have been suggested. Conroy er ring, storage conditions may induce oxidation of the ]. Corrosion control through postring treatment

of coated barrels is thus advocated as a possibility of extending barrel life. Also suggested

is pre-nitriding of the steel bore before coating, to increase hardness and reduce chemical erosion at the interface once the coating is penetrated by cracks. Likewise, reducing the carbon content of the steel near the interface may decrease its susceptibility to hydrogen cracking a er the coating is breached [

suggest that interlayers may aid in preventing the exposure of the gun steel to chemical ack, as well as decrease the transfer of shear stress from coating to substrate [ As alternatives to refractory metals, ceramic liners have been identi ].

steel, and has been successfully trialed in the past [

between the coating and substrate may prevent cracks penetrating through to the gun ,

]. Alternatively a tough cobalt interlayer located , ]. Underwood and coworkers also

ics to fracture due to susceptibility to stress concentration and addressed before widespread practical use is possible [ nite-element analysis, and for their single shots [ , ]. ,

ing technology due to very good wear and thermal resistance.

present structural reliability studies of segmented and monolithic ceramic liners using once per e primary cause of failure was identi mm barrel test case

].

Grujicic and coworkers

aws, however, must be

e propensity of ceram-

ed as a promis-

nd a failure probability of

metal barrel liners provide an alternative means to avoid the abrupt mismatch of thermal expansion between a ceramic and metal interface. initial study by Huang and coworkers [ ].

as much as

of the steel jacket.

of the ceramic liner near the barrel ends, as a result of stress due to axial thermal expansion

ed as cracking

%, by relieving tensile stress in the ceramic. Functionally graded ceramic-toe response of candidate functionally

e use of segmented liners was found to reduce failure probability by

graded liner materials to thermal shock, conductivity and wear tests, are reported in an ,

wrap, to reinforce and compress a zirconia-ceramic tube from the outside.

small-calibre barrels [

Kohnken describes the use of composite reinforced ceramics for the construction of entire e concept is to use a carbon

]. As an alternative to using ceramics as liners, bre/resin composite as an outer

3.4

Novel Erosion Mitigation

of the development of a new low-recoil gun concept [ ring, a

A novel way to reduce barrel erosion, especially at the chamber end, has arisen out , ].

low recoil gun (RAVEN) works by venting the combustion chamber at the breech during er the projectile has travelled approximately one-third the length of the barrel. If er shot exit. Hence the projectile base pressure,

e sonic rarefaction wave

correct timing is achieved then the resulting expansion wave, due to pressure loss in the chamber, will not reach the muzzle until a and thus muzzle velocity is una , ected, while the early chamber venting signi cantly

DSTOTR1757

reduces gun recoil. Following on from successful

gun was reported due to commence at the time of writing [

mm trials, fabrication of a ].

mm

concept in practice.

di

expect that erosion will be substantially reduced in their gun [ culties associated with

ects have a much shorter period over which to cause erosion.

Early venting of the chamber means that thermal, chemical, pressure and gas wash ]. However operational e RAVEN developers

elding a rear-venting gun may limit the usefulness of the

Erosion Modelling and Prediction

sion characteristics of a particular gun system to be assessed and predicted before it is built, tested, purchased or modi achieved through targeted experiments, models provide a range of additional bene surement di ed. Although this predictive utility could be partially ts.

e capability to model or simulate erosion phenomena ultimately allows the ero-

e extreme interior ballistic environment makes experimental instrumentation and meacult, whereas it is normally possible to determine all modelled physical e ability to add or remove di erent phys-

quantities throughout a simulation domain.

ical phenomena at will, allows models to be used to identify the relative importance and action of the various erosion mechanisms. Automated optimization to minimize erosion reduced overall cost, are also possible. relative to a particular parameter, quicker generation of trend data, reduced test time, and

alized. All models require careful validation against trusted, measured data before being tion of their numerical accuracy and consistency . relied upon for critical tasks, while computational models additionally require veri

Models need to produce credible, accurate results before these advantages can be reca-

elling and experimental approaches generally produces the best outcomes.

In practice, the combination of mod-

far only been successfully applied to speci

Due to the complexity of the barrel erosion problem, pure analytical modelling has so c sub-problems of limited scope. In contrast

empirical methods, based on both physical arguments and observed statistical trends,

ited number of input parameters. Empirical methods, however, do not explicitly estabdrawing together analytical descriptions of the physical processes, approximate and exlish the physical mechanisms through which the erosion occurs. Computational models,

have been employed to describe the erosion of gun systems as a function of a quite lim-

act numerical solution techniques, and observed experimental data, have been applied to solve, understand, and predict gun barrel erosion with varying degrees of success.

4.1

Empirical
e quantity of heat transferred from propellant gas to the barrel, and the resulting .

ing modern computational

cussed in Section

surface temperature, strongly in

, it is a fairly straight-forward task to calculate these quantities usuid dynamics codes. A Navier-Stokes solver coupled with

uences the magnitude of barrel erosion. As will be dis-

DSTOTR1757

late surface heating as part of the numerical solution. velop semi-empirical treatments for surface heating [

an appropriate turbulent boundary layer approximation can be used to directly calcucommonly-implemented turbulence models, though, have lead Lawton and Laird to de, ]. uid dynamics ow estions as to the accuracy of

dent surface heating formula is convenient when a full computational

Additionally an indepen,

solution is not warranted and a quick solution is all that is required. In practice, Lawton and Laird use a simple, lumped parameter interior ballistics model to calculate core heat transfer to the barrel.

properties, and with this input data employ their semi-empirical correlation to calculate

temperature, and

Based on measurements from ve di

erent propellants, the Nusselt-Reynolds number correlation [ Nud

rings using

and

mm barrels at ambient

= 0.7 Re0.65 d
ned by core

erties only ,

was found, where

d is the bore diameter. Reynolds number is de

Re d

ow prop( )

= ud/, is gas viscosity. T

its de

cated by the correlation may be used to calculate the heat transferred to the surface, nition Nud

where

is gas density, u is

ow speed, and

e Nusselt number indi-

q, by
(

= hd/k = qd/[k(T

gas

surface

)],

provided that the gas conductivity

k and gas-surface temperature di erential are known. e accuracy of the correlation is reported as %, and varies with axial position.
An improved correlation was later developed primarily to account for initial barrel ], making it useful for repeated rings and machine guns. er accounting for

from an e the e

In the improved correlation, the non-dimensional quantities are based on axial distance ects of boundary layer development. It is more complex, and given by ective breech face location,

temperatures above ambient [

x, rather than bore diameter, be T

surface

q x = k[0.85 Re0.7 (T x

gas

) 2000 ET
ned as

surface

]/x,

with the non-dimensional expansion number,

E, de

E=
Here,

1 dV V dt cv Vc

mc cv x3 kVc u

0.5

base

. mc

( c heat at constant volume,

mass, and

the volume occupied by propellant gas, claimed to have an accuracy of

is the ratio of speci

c heats,

the mixture speci

of barrel heating is also relevant to the modelling of propellant cook-o

ubase is the gas velocity at the base of the projectile. e improved correlation is %. Besides being useful for erosion studies, calculation
.

the initial chamber volume,

the charge

diate step of explicitly determining heat transfer [ temperature, the improved equation can be wri of the original that was described in Section .

Lawton also produced a direct correlation for calculating erosion without the intermeas Equation ]. .

is correlation is an improvement

en as

For a barrel at ambient

w = A t0 exp

E RT

max

DSTOTR1757

where is

the quotient of bore diameter and muzzle velocity .

t0 is introduced to account for the ballistic cycle time, and may be approximated as
e activation energy of the propellant

E, and the maximum bore temperature is approximated, in SI units, by T

max

T f 540 1.8 + 7130 d2.22 m0.86 v0.86 c m

e erosion coe cient

+ 300,

where rede

ned as

vm is muzzle velocity.

A, accounting for chemical e

ects, is

A = 114 exp[0.0207( f CO 3.3 f CO2 + 2.4 f H2 3.6 f H2 O 0.5 f N2 )],

removed, in comparison with Equation pellants in the Royal Australian Navy s with the advantage that the disproportionately large in

proved correlation, showing a calculation comparing the erosivity of two di /

. A worked example of the use of Lawton ims gun, is presented in Appendix A. erent pro-

uence of dissociated products is

4.2

Computational
cant and relevant to

or under the surface, causing the actual barrel mass loss. processes can be summarized as:

relating to the production and transfer of heat and reactants, and (ii) those occurring on For the rst set, the physical

can be divided into two coupled sets, (i) those principally on the exterior of the surface,

erosion are required for the development of a computational model.

Accurate mathematical descriptions of physical processes signi

ese processes

Production of gas species and heat release due to propellant combustion. Development of the unsteady interior ow eld both before and a er shot start.

Establishment of a boundary layer, and its transition from laminar to turbulent. Entrainment of solid propellant particles and ablated surface materials in the Flow through, or recirculation in, surface cracks and defects. Convective and radiative heat transfer from the core layer, to the barrel surface. ow, through the boundary ow.

Non-equilibrium chemical kinetics and di boundary layer.

usion of species in the core

ow and

Heating of the bore surface due to viscous skin friction.

For the second set, the processes can be summarized as:

Heat conduction through the coating and/or gun steel. ermal expansion and stressing of barrel materials.

DSTOTR1757

Barrel melting and/or phase change. Surface chemical reactions, including catalytic e Sub-surface chemical reactions. Removal of barrel material and ablative cooling of the surface. Solid di usion of species. ects.

Formation and growth of cracks. Coating spallation and delamination. Surface-projectile engagement.

be achieved. Current approaches are to either concentrate on simulating a subset of the

A complete, automated simulation, accurately covering all of these phenomena has yet to above processes to high accuracy or to provide erosion estimates by including many of ,

of the most recently developed computational models are now compared, with reference to the above framework.

the above processes but making simplifying assumptions to render them solvable. Some

son of two methods implemented for the determination of heat transfer to the bore surNavier-Stokes equations, describing the interior gas axisymmetry Turbulent boundary layer e . face of a mm gun. e rst is a computational uid dynamics (CFD) approach. ow, are solved in two-dimensional e full

While not directly calculating erosion, Heiser and coworkers [

] present a compari-

turbulence model, and the bore surface is taken to be defect-free.

ects are accounted for using a one-equation

tion gases.

source terms of the conserved variables are used to simulate the generation of combusnot simulated, and that the gas is considered a homogeneous mixture (where individual e wall boundary condition assumes that the bore surface temperature and While not explicitly stated in their report, it appears that ow chemistry is

single-phase only so solid entrainment and the associated drag is not included. ,

e simulations are Direct

gaseous species are not considered). Consequently no gas-wall chemical interactions are , modelled. ow. adjacent gas temperature are equal, which is reasonable considering the density of the

used as inputs to calculate conduction of heat to and within the solid in two-dimensions, in a time-accurate manner. Inclusion of the axial temperature gradient in the barrel heating model is unusual; this e ect is o en ignored due to its relatively small magnitude in

e resulting axial and radial temperature gradients on the gas side of the wall are

comparison to the radial temperature gradient.

actual, continuous boundary layer. A breech boundary layer (originating at the upstream

model. In the analytical model, two coupled boundary layers are used to represent the

e CFD simulations are compared with results from an analytical boundary layer

Prandtl boundary layer equations and an empirical power-law velocity pro s

tile base) are coupled at an intermediate axial location where their thicknesses match.

breech wall) and a projectile boundary layer (which has zero thickness at the projecle are used

to solve for wall shear stress and heating. In contrast to the two-dimensional CFD method, is solved iteratively . the analytical method is coupled with a one-dimensional heat conduction model, which

DSTOTR1757

temperature (at a depth of

sults [

Both the CFD and analytical models were checked against experimental m) measured in experimental

]. For an uncoated steel tube, CFD simulation matched the peak subsurface wall ow of an homogeneous mixture, this is an excellent result. K. By comparison, the analytical model K, but achieved good agreem temperrings. Considering that the

ring re-

Although good agreement near the surface was reached, at a depth of ature was underpredicted by approximately overpredicted temperature at the m depth. m depth by about

model assumed single-phase

ment with experiment at the

heat conduction through the solid is occurring faster than in the experiments. CFD was also used by Andrade and coworkers [ ] to investigate the

ese results indicate that, in both models,

ric grids covering a domain from slightly upstream of the projectile, and an eroded gap between projectile and bore surface are used. ne upstream in ow conditions. e entire chamber and barrel are thus not

transfer to the barrel is taken as an indicator of erosivity Two-dimensional axisymmet.

projectile blow-by gas. Again erosion processes are not included in the calculations; heat

ow-

eld of

simulated, and results from an interior ballistics lumped parameter model are used to destate ow of perfect gas. In the absence of experimental evidence as to boundary layer e Navier-Stokes equations are solved for the steady-

type, the authors assume that it is laminar. In total, these assumptions are appropriate the essentially unsteady nature of the

for calculation of quantities such as drag, pressure, and streamline behaviour. However, e ects in the gap, and the assumption of an isothermal surface, may act to reduce the aced model appropriate e authors justify the ow, the importance of real-gas high-temperature

curacy to which this model can realistically simulate heat transfer. assumptions, though, with the stated intention of creating a simpli for comparison with controlled laboratory measurements.

ings and cracks, has been conducted by Conroy and coworkers at ARL since work [ a one-dimensional (axial) two-phase interior ballistics solver (NOVA [

Extensive development of numerical erosion models, particularly with respect to coat] involved coupling a one-dimensional (radial) barrel heat conduction code with . Early

turbulent boundary layer treatment due to Chandra and Fisher [ Gas and surface chemistry was ignored. rings of an M translate core

ow properties derived from the NOVA code into a surface heating input. charge in a . mm howi er. e predicted temper-

] was employed, to

]). An analytical

ature rise at the OR was approximately

during repeated

e model was used to simulate barrel heating

times higher than was measured.

calculation, and simulation of erosion via the melt-wipe mechanism [ version of the NOVA code, XKTC [ concentration of chemical species in the core librium. e transfer of heat and di ], was used to establish core

In later work, a new model was constructed o

ering both improved heat transfer ow properties. ].

An updated e ]

code coupled with a lumped parameter interior ballistics model, assuming chemical equiusion of species through the boundary layer to the

ow were calculated using the BLAKE [

bore surface is included in the model, although reactions are frozen while this occurs. Chemical equilibrium is reactivated at the surface, the species are reacted, and chemical energy is released as a source term. If su usion of species is modelled. cient heat is transferred to the bore to cause

tions or di

melting, the liquids are immediately removed as surface erosion. barrel, using M

uncoated (perhaps chipped) area of an M

e model was used to predict erosion in an A and Advanced KE

No subsurface reac-

Penetrator rounds. In both cases reasonable agreement was achieved: erosion depth per

DSTOTR1757

round was slightly overpredicted for the former, and underpredicted for the la other than melt-wipe.

e main limitation of this model is the inability to simulate erosion through mechanisms

er case.

used, producing surface temperatures below the melting point of the surface material. not applicable. Likewise, if defect-free high melting point surface coatings are used, the model is also

e melt-wipe process does not apply when cool propellants are

other limitations [

A range of improvements and extensions were made to the model to address this and , , , , ]. ned surface coatings, steel la ice phase change,

treatment of macroscopic cracking, modelling of pits under coatings, carbon and oxygen di rial. A surface chemistry freeze-out temperature was also introduced to exclude chemical equilibrium at unrealistically low temperatures. However, this was later replaced with NASA Lewis database. Compared with equilibrium surface chemistry the use of , creased erosion further down the barrel. the provision of true nite-rate (non-equilibrium) surface reaction kinetics based on the niteusion into the substrate, and carburization/oxidation reactions in the barrel mate-

rial properties, incorporation of user-de

ese included thermal variability of barrel mate-

rate reactions tended to increase the predicted erosion rate of pits near the OR, but detemperature sensitivity due to the high dependence of reaction rates on temperature. is may be explained by an increased erosion-

proach of modifying and piecing together a series of well-used, existing tools to form an erosion modelling capability [ terior ballistics core , ].

Rather than develop a new model from scratch, Sopok and coworkers take the apIn common with Conroy and coworkers, the in-

for modelling the gas boundary layer and heat conduction within the barrel, respectively . e MABL code simulates turbulent boundary layer ow using the Reynolds-averaged

layer [

the rocket community TDK/MABL (two-dimensional nozzle mass addition boundary , ]) and TDK/MACE (materials ablation conduction erosion [

with BLAKE used to determine its equilibrium chemical composition. Two codes from

ow is computed by the one-dimensional, two-phase XKTC code,

]) were adapted

their modelling based on the assumption of a boundary layer in chemical equilibrium. (using an additional module called TDK/ODE, and in later work CCET [ Similar to Conroy earlier work, chemical equilibrium of gas-surface reactions is assumed s bined with a freeze-out temperature at which these reactions no longer occur. , e MACE ]) and com-

was modi

tions with the existing boundary layer using an eddy-viscosity model. Although MABL ed to incorporate

Navier-Stokes equations, and incorporates the mixing of gas products from surface reacnite-rate chemical kinetics, Sopok and coworkers perform

code is used to solve one-dimensional heat conduction through the barrel wall, and includes species di material properties. Surface mass loss due to both thermochemical erosion and mechanusion and chemical reactions within the solid, and thermally variable

ical erosion are output by MACE.

sion model from well-established codes is a reduced burden of validation. tage, however, is that Sopok model requires signi s together, and the most modern and e

As well as reducing model development time, an advantage of constructing the erocant manual intervention to reconcile e disadvan-

the input/output requirements of the various codes when trying to string the modules cient numerical solution techniques are not neces-

sarily implemented.

DSTOTR1757

the M

Sopok and coworkers have applied their model to a range of gun systems, including A [ Bushmaster , , , ] and M mm cannon with M E [ cartridge [ ], and the M

supplemented by the input of a range of experimental data. Although this means that the modelling results may not be truly predictive, the use of experimental results to de

in both erosion levels and distribution is claimed.

] APFSDS rounds. In general, good agreement e work, however, is calibrated or ll model

cannon with

include: thermocouple data, gas-surface reaction rate data, measurements relating to difthe spacing and geometry of cracks and pits [ , ].

physical calibration data, derived from experiments and observations of retired barrels,

ciencies (such as the lack of a crack model) does extend its usefulness. Examples of

fusion, reaction, phase change and coating/steel losses at cracks, pits and interfaces, and

Experimental Assessment Techniques

of gas blow-by leakage; and details of how the di

merical models and creation of empirical models; barrel heating characteristics; the e

band materials, barrel materials and coatings; the e

have been conducted to investigate: the relative erosivity of di

methods continue to be the principal erosion research tool. Recent erosion experiments

In spite of the recent advances in computational model development, experimental erent propellants, driving ect

ect of additives; the validation of nu-

erent erosion mechanisms function. , , ,

Vented vessels are particularly suited for the assessment of relative erosivity of di be taken to reproduce the pressure,

to its low cost, relatively fast turnaround time, and convenience for parametric studies. erent

are vented past a test material, eroding it in the process.

Vented vessels have been widely used for experimental erosion research [ , , ].

Propellant is ignited and combusted within the vessel and the contents

e technique is popular due

propellant and barrel material combinations. To obtain realistic results, though, care must ow velocity and heat transfer characteristics of the ,

gun system in the vessel experiment. Using an excessive charge, for example, may unrealistically favour high surface temperature melt-wipe erosion in comparison to chemical order of magnitude more erosive than gun degradation and gas wash [ ]. Sopok notes that vented vessel rings [ ]. For these reasons, it is di rings are typically an

to apply vented vessel results to the quantitative prediction of erosion on full-scale guns. ferent speci cation or design [

cult

Likewise, it is inconclusive to directly compare results obtained from two vessels of difsmaller charge weights, have also been reported [

]. Problems of scale, such as excessive heat loss due to

action of projectile passage is not accounted for in most vented vessel tests.

]. Finally the mechanically erosive ,

didate barrel material. Kimura [

e simplest vented vessel arrangement is to construct the vent nozzle out of the canA number of improved techniques have been devised, though, To simulate blow-by , ]

to produce more realistic erosion data from vented vessel tests.

simulate blow-by with a more complex venting con

high speed

] uses a small diameter vent nozzle made from the test material to generate ow, thus promoting erosion by gas-wash. In contrast, Lawton and Laird [

to relieve the bulk of the gas, contains a regulator used to adjust the blow-down rate. Meanwhile, a separate, annular, outer slit is used to generate test ow past the sample

guration. A central vent path, used

DSTOTR1757

vent ori

of the OR region, Kimura uses what he refers to as a double-choke nozzle [ erate subsonic, high temperature of su ow over the sample.

tively high heat transfer rates at low vessel pressures [

material. Due to the narrowness of the slit, Lawton and Laird are able to generate rela]. To produce

ow representative

ce is placed downstream of the test material, and used to choke the gas and genOther investigators have used

]. A small

burster disks or pseudo-projectiles to simulate shot start conditions or allow the build-up zle and propellant combinations, good reproduction of gun pressure-time pro been achieved in vented vessel tests at DSTO [ ]. To simulate erosion at di cient pressure before the test begins [

]. By using appropriate burster disk, nozerent axial les has

to produce conditions appropriate to the OR region, or further downstream.

Loading density is strongly related to peak pressure and gas velocity and can be tuned ,

locations along a barrel, Sopok varies the loading density of propellant in the vessel [

].

relating vessel-derived data to gun erosion. Lawton proposes that his empirical wear correlation (Equation appropriate characteristic time ) can be applied to both vented vessel and gun

ere have been a number of approaches to extend the usefulness of vented vessels by rings, provided an ]. e de

t0 is used to normalize the equation [ t0 = 5 P P dt

nition

max

is introduced as a measure of the pressure pulse duration in both vessel and gun

principle, then, it is possible to use vented vessel results to determine the wear coe

rings. In cient

the code was then used to predict blow-by temperature and pressure erosion model described in Section results [ ]. .

to validate a lumped parameter code modi

leakage, Lawton and Laird used the results of their vented vessel blow-by experiments ed for this application [

A to aid the prediction of gun erosion via Equation

. For the simulation of gun blow-by ]. Once validated, uctuations in a

mm cannon with reasonable success. In a like manner, Sopok uses the computational to reconcile vented vessel and gun

ring erosion

cause severe plastic deformation, blunting of crack tips, and generation of residual compressive stresses within the HAZ.

ited numerous subsurface cracks.

case of thermal loading only while similar samples subjected to vented vessel tests exhib, e laser pulse heating alone, however, was enough to

surface thermal loads of

ects, Cote and coworkers have successfully used laser pulse heating to simulate the ring [ ].

To determine the e

ect of thermal erosion, in the absence of chemical and mechanical ey found an absence of subsurface cracking in the

tion are able to capture the full range of real erosion phenomena [ calibre weapons, however, the expense of acquiring the gun, tation.

Erosion experiments using full-scale guns retro

ed with appropriate instrumenta, ,

trialling at ranges, may be prohibitive for parametric studies or long-term experimenvessels and real gun re rings. Seiler and coworkers [ ,

ing instrumentation, and

]. For large

Some investigators have used gun test beds as an intermediate between vented mm projectiles. An exchangeable inner sleeve, which includes the

device used to

] describe an experimental gun

forcing cone, is used to house instrumentation and erosion test materials. e harsh interior ballistic environment presents di

mentation in both vented vessel and gun tests. Instruments need to have fast response (a

culties for experimental instru-

DSTOTR1757

typical ballistic cycle lasts around

atures and an erosive chemical environment. transfer is more di with very cult.

ms) and also be resistant to high pressures, temperWhile Kistler-type piezoelectric pressure

transducers are commonly available and used in ballistic research, measurement of heat ne hot junctions must be used.

In order to have fast response characteristics, thermocouples e thickness of the hot junctions is generally ]. Eroding-

of the same order as the per-shot erosion level, which limits their useful life [ type thermocouples, where the erosive action of the guns [ , ].

hot junction have been successfully used by Lawton to instrument vented vessels and e junction is made from a nickel alloy rather than steel, and the di ,

ow acts to continually re-form the

ence in thermal conductivity of the materials must be accounted for to obtain a surface mocouples of this type are routinely constructed and used by the shock- and expansiontemperature representative of a steel barrel. While di cult to obtain commercially ther,

er-

tube research community in Australia and internationally [

not required, then in-wall thermocouples (IWTCs) can also be used. Bundy and coworkers describe the installation of IWTCs in blind holes drilled into the exterior of a cated within . mm of the bore surface [ barrel. Using ultrasound to determine the barrel thickness, the thermocouples were lotensioners were used to hold the hot junction against the barrel surface at the bo

]. If surface temperature is mm

]. To ensure good thermal conduction, spring om of

the hole. % (K).

separated circumferentially Bundy and coworkers found temperature variations of up to , rel between the thermocouple and bore surface; variation in the extent of delamination between barrel and coating; contamination at the bo real circumferential variation in heat input from the ring.

When comparing results from IWTCs installed at the same axial location but

ey cited several possibilities for the discrepancy: nonuniform thickness of barom of some of the blind holes; and

is also possible [

of bore enlargement and comparison of pre- and post-shot barrel interior contour pro enlargement may not give a true indication of the eroded mass.

easily measured as the mass lost during

If experiments are conducted with removable samples of barrel materials, erosion is ring [ , les

]. Alternatively direct measurement ,

]. Where cracking and sub-surface pit erosion occurs, however, bore Dechoux has demon]. er e portion

of barrel where erosion is to be measured is irradiated, and the activity remaining a

strated the possibility of using a radioactive gauge to quantify mass loss [

the barrel material, and as the material erodes the length of the indentation is reduced and may be used to infer the eroded depth. absolute bore diameter measurements. As has already been noted in Section erosion occurring in recessed grooves with that occurring at the bore surface. pro and at crack-surface interfaces. .

another method for gauging erosion [

tations usually used for hardness testing have been used by Seiler and coworkers as ,

ring gives an indication of mass loss. Knoop indentations pyramidal surface inden-

]. Indentations are pressed into a sample of is technique obviates the need to make

and coworkers determine the erosive contribution of projectile friction by comparing the

, Seiler

le of the grooves is also used to characterize the behaviour of erosion within cracks

e eroded

vessel and gun experiments, as well as retired barrels, can help elucidate the action of the

Finally microscopy and metallographical examination of materials eroded in vented ,

various erosion mechanisms. Optical and scanning electron microscopy have been used section samples [ to examine surface deterioration, heat checking, and crack penetration through cross, , ]. Information about steel phase changes, the presence of dif-

DSTOTR1757

fused species from the propellant gas, and the products of gas-subsurface reactions, has been obtained through Auger electron microscopy X-ray di , and nuclear reaction analysis [ , , , ]. raction, ion beam analysis,

Conclusion

nerable propellants, has continued to drive research into gun barrel erosion over the last arisen through the development and improvement of erosion modelling and prediction tools, targeted experiments, and the analysis of eroded barrels from and erosion mitigation have resulted. een years. Advancements in understanding the di

e push towards higher muzzle velocities, more energetic propellants, and less vulerent erosion mechanisms have elded guns. Based

on this understanding, a number of new ideas in low-erosivity propellant formulation

erosive, however this is not always true. A signi where erosion does not increase with is some con

In the past it is has been commonly held that ho

by propellant gas species has been the primary determinant of erosivity Although there .

ame temperature, and chemical a

cant number of cases have been reported

er-burning gun propellants are more ack of the bore

mon LOVA propellants are more erosive than equivalent conventional propellants. Many eral investigators that RDX is highly chemically erosive.

icting evidence in the literature, it is generally accepted that the most com-

LOVA propellant formulations contain RDX, and it has been convincingly shown by sev-

resulting propellant combustion gases, rich in nitrogen, act to re-nitride bore surfaces ness, increased resistance to melting, and reduced chemical erosion. during ring and inhibit erosive surface reactions. e result is increased bore hard-

RDX content and introducing nitrogen-rich energetic binder or

New, experimental low-erosivity LOVA propellants have been produced by reducing ller compounds. e

gen concentration in the combustion gas of some of these propellants may also reduce development, the majority possess impetus and hydrogen-assisted cracking of the bore surface. Of the high-nitrogen propellants under ame temperatures lower than RDX: a

e lowered hydro-

compromise between performance, sensitiveness and erosivity must be reached in these cases.

microcracks in the coatings, present from the time of manufacture, propagate due to pressure and thermal stress cycling and eventually reach the gun steel substrate.

for barrels coated with protective refractory metals.

Signi

cant e

ort has recently been directed at understanding the erosion mechanisms e most plausible mechanism is that

merical modelling and analysis of eroded barrels, a number of investigators have shown peratures cause pi that once cracks reach the substrate, chemical erosion, gas wash, and high interfacial teming of the substrate and eventually undermine the coating. Segments

rough nu-

of coating are subsequently removed by the

at this point the erosion rate of coated barrels may exceed that of steel barrels. A number of be of ways to mitigate this erosion pathway have been suggested, including: development er coating techniques to avoid the initial microcracks, pre-nitriding the gun steel

ow or engagement with the projectile, and

trolled barrel storage and post-

before coating to slow substrate erosion, introducing a protective interlayer, and conring treatment to prevent oxidation of exposed substrate.

DSTOTR1757

chromium, the erosion resistance of refractory metal coatings varies amongst di propellant gas chemistry environments.

Modelling and experiments have additionally shown that, with the notable exception of erent

have been identi

Due to very good wear characteristics and thermal resistance, ceramic barrel liners

ity of ceramics to fracture, driven by stress induced by the di

ed as a promising technology for some time. However the susceptibilerent thermal expansion

properties of steel and ceramics, have prevented their widespread use. New functionally

the ceramic/metal interface, are being developed to address this issue. For small calibres, fabrication of entire barrels using composite reinforced ceramics has been demonstrated.

graded ceramic-to-metal liners, which avoid an abrupt mismatch of thermal expansion at

can reduce erosion through cooling-layer e erosion.

ect the severity and distribution of erosion due to gas wash, and that combustible cases ects. Several investigators have shown that

Particularly for cooler propellants, it has been shown that charge arrangement can

propellant gas blow-by markedly increases heat transfer to the bore, and thereby thermal

elling of erosion, and two codes capable of simulating a broad range of erosion phenomof in-service gun barrels and laboratory experiments. In some cases, however, signi ena have been reviewed. Modelling results show reasonable agreement with the erosion calibration via input of experimental data was required to achieve this agreement. A truly cant

Over the last ten years there have been signi

cant advances in computational mod-

predictive and comprehensive erosion model, capable of supplanting experiment, does not yet exist. Nevertheless, in combination with experiment the existing computational erosion models have proved extremely useful in be er understanding how the various

erosion mechanisms act.

propellants, LOVA propellants, new and modi

Near term work in Australia will most likely focus on the erosion assessment of new ed charge designs, and new weapon sys-

gested that the limited resources available for research in this area are best directed tothe primary small-scale erosion research tool, but the questionable applicability of results to full-scale gun barrel erosion has previously restricted their usefulness.

tems. Since numerical erosion models require experimental validation anyway it is sug, wards establishing a modest experimental capability Vented vessel testing has long been . New vented

vessel testing methods, methodologies for the selection of appropriate and realistic test ni cantly alleviated this di culty however. , us a properly designed vented vessel test

conditions, and empirical relations designed to reconcile vessel and gun results, have sigrings, is recommended as the most e cient

approach to performing erosion research and assessment with restricted resources.

facility together with limited full-scale gun ,

DSTOTR1757

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DSTOTR1757

DSTOTR1757

Appendix A

Wear Calculations for the

Gun

used BS-NACO propellant.

calculated. A LOVA propellant formulation, XM-

relative erosion produced by two di

correlation [

e purpose of this appendix is to demonstrate the application of Lawton improved s ] using a gun elded by the Australian Defence Force as the example. erent propellant formulations in a / gun will be

, will be compared to the currently-

duce the same muzzle velocity In practice, this means that a smaller charge of the more . energetic XMthe XMas equal, the corresponding characteristic times

For a fair comparison, we begin with the constraint that both propellants must pro-

t0 of Equation are also equal. X , and BS-NACO as N , we can thus write the relative erosion as wX AX E = exp wN AN R 1 Tmax,N 1 Tmax,X .
.

is required. Since, in both cases, bore diameter and muzzle velocity are

Denoting

(A

To produce a muzzle velocity of ing

are required for the BS-NACO and XMtion

m/s, charge weights of approximately propellants, respectively [ K and ].

ame temperatures of these propellants are

predicts maximum bore temperatures of

K. With this data, Equa-

e correspond-

and

kg

Tmax,N = 1230 K

and

Tmax,X = 1450 K.

(A

CO2 ,

e combustion product gas compostion for BS-NACO has been calculated as . . % CO, % CO2 , . % H2 O, . % CO, . . % H2 and % H2 O, . . % N2 by volume [ % H2 and . % N2 [

the resulting erosion coe

, it is

]. Likewise, for the XM]. From Equation

cients are

A N = 120 m/s
tions A Assuming a common activation energy and A into A , we have:

and of

A X = 240 m/s.
MJ/kg-mol [

(A

], and substituting Equa-

wX = 5.6 wN

(A

the correlation, caution should be applied in interpreting the result.

gun type and these particular propellants were not part of the database used to construct ratio should be taken as indicative only rather than an accurate prediction. A simplistic , ments, or as a quick check before conducting comprehensive computational modelling.

icantly more erosive than the currently-used BS-NACO. However, since this particular

us, to a

rst approximation, it is expected that the LOVA propellant would be signif-

e calculated wear

calculation such as this is most useful as a starting point for designing erosion experi-

DSTOTR1757

Page classi

cation: UNCLASSIFIED
1. CA VEAT/PRIV ACY MARKING

DEFENCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ORGANISATION DOCUMENT CONTROL DATA

2. TITLE

3. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Understanding Erosion

and

Predicting

Gun

Barrel

Document Title Abstract

(U) (U)

(U)

4. AUTHORS

5. CORPORATE AUTHOR

Ian A. Johnston

DSTO

Defence Science and Technology Organisation PO Box 1500 Edinburgh, South Australia, Australia 5111

DSTOTR1757
8. FILE NUMBER

6a. DSTO NUMBER

6b. AR NUMBER

013-473 ARM 05/066

6c. TYPE OF REPORT

Technical Report 39
11. No OF PAGES

August, 2005 82

7. DOCUMENT DATE

2005/1057079/1

9. TASK NUMBER

10. SPONSOR

COMD LWDC

12. No OF REFS

13. URL OF ELECTRONIC VERSION

14. RELEASE AUTHORITY

p://www.dsto.defence.gov .au/corporate/ reports/DSTOTR1757.pdf

Chief, Weapons Systems Division

15. SECONDARY RELEASE STATEMENT OF THIS DOCUMENT

Approved For Public Release

OVERSEAS ENQUIRIES OUTSIDE STATED LIMITATIONS SHOULD BE REFERRED THROUGH DOCUMENT EXCHANGE, PO BOX 1500, EDINBURGH, SOUTH AUSTRALIA 5111

16. DELIBERATE ANNOUNCEMENT

No Limitations
17. CITATION IN OTHER DOCUMENTS

No Limitations
18. DEFTEST DESCRIPTORS

Wear

Erosion control

Gun barrels

Gun barrel erosion Erosion

Mathematical models

19. ABSTRACT

presented.

of advances in gun barrel erosion research, mitigation, and assessment over the last

tems, and possible modi

the use of new low-vulnerability gun propellants, the acquisition of new ammunition and gun syscations to existing propelling charge designs. A critical, technical review een years is

e Australian Defence Force will soon have to contend with gun barrel erosion issues arising from

numerical modelling work, are described and contrasted. New approaches to erosion mitigation and updated knowledge of existing methods are reviewed. Also included is an assessment of the utility defence applications in Australia. of the various erosion modelling and experimental techniques, and notes on their possible use for

Known and postulated erosion mechanisms, obtained through recent experimental and

Page classi

cation: UNCLASSIFIED

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DSTO Defence Science and Technology Organisation

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