APPLICATIONS

AMMUNITION COMPONETS MOLDED IN NYLON 6/6 ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO CHANGES IN PERFORMANCE FOLLOWING STORAGE IN HIGH HUMIDITY AND TEMPERATURE ENVIROMENTS. THIS IS DUE TO THE MOISTURE ABSORPTION CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS MATERIAL, WHICH AFFECTS DIMENSIONS AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES. FURTHER, INTIMATE CONTACT WITH PROPELLANTS AND EXPLOSIVES FOR EXTENDED PERIODS HAS BEEN SHOWN TO AFFECT PERFORMANCE. A SEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED FOR REPLACEMENT THERMOPLASTIC MATERIALS WITH MECHANICAL PROPERTIES SIMILAR TO DRY-AS-MOLDED NYLON 6/6, BUT WITH REDUCED SENSITIVITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL HUMIDITY AND IMPROVED RESISTANCE TO ESPOSURE TO EXPLOSIVES AND PROPELLANTS. ENGINEERING PLASTIC MATERIAL CANDIDATES WILL BE SELECTED AND RANKED ACCORDING TO PERFORMANCE IN TESTS OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AT A RANGE OF TEMPERATURES AND HUMIDITY. SHORT-TERM DATA ON COMPATIBILITY WITH EXPLOSIVES AND PROPELLANTS FOR THESE CANDIDATES WILL BE OBTAINED WITH ASSISTANCE FROM ARDC PERSONNEL, AND WILL BE USED TO MAKE FINAL ASSESSMENTS OF SUITABILITY FOR USE IN AMMUNITION APPLICATIONS.