Barrel Coating and Liners for Extended Barrel Life

The objective of this Phase-II proposal is to develop Alameda Applied Sciences Corporation's (AASC) Coaxial Energetic Deposition (CED) process to increase the life of gun barrels by depositing a protective refractory metal coating to the inside of thebarrel that can outperform and replace the electroplated chrome coatings that are presently used. This effort extends and builds upon AASC's promising Phase-I results where Ta:W(10%), pure tungsten and Stellite (a cobalt/chrome/tungsten alloy) weredeposited using the CED process. As part of this Phase-II, refractory coatings will be deposited to the inside of 45 mm and 76 mm tests sections using the CED process and live-fire tests will be performed and benchmarked against chrome. The coatings willbe tested for their internal stress, chemical composition, microstructure, hardness and heat-affected zones both before and after the test firings and will be optimized to reduce the chemical, physical and thermal effects to the coating and the underlyingsteel. A full-scale deposition system will be designed and a prototype system will be built to transition the CED process into Phase-III production. To speed commercialization, AASC intends to license the CED technology to a large gun manufacturer. It isanticipated that these coatings will extend the life and increase the capabilities of large-caliber, ship born, naval gun barrels. There are four direct benefits of this Phase-II program. 1) Since the coatings will extend the life of the gun barrels, shipscan stay on mission longer, reducing life-cycle and sustainment costs. 2) The coatings will allow existing guns to be upgraded to use higher energy propellants with a relatively un-intrusive and inexpensive modification to the existing fabrication process.3) The coatings will allow future, high-performance gun system to be built that can not be constructed using today's technology. 4) The CED process eliminates the use of electroplated chrome, which is hazardous and is being phased-out. In addition, CEDcoatings have already demonstrated that they extend the life of ethylene cracking tubes used by the petroleum industry for olefin manufacturing. CED coatings have the potential to extend the life of tubes or cylinders where mechanical wear, causticchemicals or elevated temperatures are contributing factors to the failure of the system, leading to cost savings in operation and maintenance. Examples of such systems are engine and hydraulic cylinders, exhaust components and turbine blades.