Innovative Predictive Model for Determining Bore Erosion

New requirements for modern gun systems have greatly increased the propellant flame temperature and reactivity of the combustion products. As a result, thermochemical erosion can greatly reduced the service life of the gun tubes in these systems. Coatings, liners, additives, and deterred propellants have been used to mitigate erosion, with mixed results. In addition, reduced weight requirements for the next generation Future Combat System (FCS) dictate a need to mitigate the recoil and manage the total heat load. In order to design a light weight gun tube which resists excessive wear, a thorough understanding of the mechanisms contributing to thermochemical erosion is necessary. This new program development will result in a computer code that melds modern computational modeling with all the prior knowledge of thermochemical erosion. The resulting code will allow designers to parametrically evaluate and compare recoil mitigation, heat load, and erosion performance resulting from various combinations of propellants, materials, and wear-reduction technologies. This screening tool will allow the designer to concentrate on the most promising wear resistant technology, rather than waste time, resources, and money on a hit and miss approach.