Advanced Gun Barrel Design

High rate-of-fire weapons are subject to significant barrel erosion as projectile velocity and burst lengths are increased. Bore temperatures exceeding the melting point of steel can be easily reached because of the low thermal conductivity of the steel barrel. Barrels comprised of copper/graphite composite materials potentially have an order of magnitude greater thermal conductivity than steel and could significantly decrease bore tempertures. A copper/graphite composite barrel will be designed and analyzed for thermal performance. A manufacturing process for producing these composite barrels using liquid metal infiltration will be investigated. Feasibility will be demonstrated by manufacturing and testing a small barrel.