Nano-Engineered Coating for Barrel Life Enhancement

Extending gun barrel life has been a long-standing goal for the US Air Force and other DoD agencies. Currently-used chrome plated barrels are susceptible to erosion and corrosion which affects the accuracy of fired bullets due to material loss along the inner surface. The primary cause of barrel degradation is the poor quality chrome coating and attack of steel inner surface by hot gases and combustion products through microcracks and defects in the chrome layer. The objective of the present effort is to demonstrate the enhancement of performance by a new coating material on both existing chrome plated as well as newly-developed gun barrel materials.