DEVELOPMENT OF A TUNGSTEN HEAVY ALLOY THAT FAILS BY AN ADIABATIC SHEAR MECHANISM

KINETIC ENERGY PENETRATORS MADE OF DU ALLOYS PERFORM BETTER THAN THE TUNGSTEN HEAVY ALLOYS (WHA). THE IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN DU ALLOY PENETRATORS IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO FAILURE BY ADIABATIC SHEAR BANDING WHICH HELPS THE PROJECTILE MAINTAIN A SELF-SHARPENED CHISELED NOSE THERBY PENETRATING FURTHER THAN TUNGSTEN BASED PENETRATORS. RADIOLOGICAL HAZARDS OF DU ALLOYS, HOWEVER, DICTATE THE IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE OF WHA PENETRATORS. TWO NOVEL APPROACHES ARE PROPOSED: FIRSTLY, THE NI-FE BASED MATRIX WILL BE REPLACED BY L12 STRUCTURED INTERMATALLIC, NI3AL (AND ALSO NI-12 AT.%AL-40AT.%FE) SINCE THESE ALLOYS EXHIBIT THE GENERAL QUASISTATIC PROPERTY OF DECREASING DUCTILITY WITH INCREASING TEMPERATURES. THE TEMPERATURE ASSISTED EMBRITTLEMENT IS EXPECTED TO NUCLEATE FAILURE MORE READILY ALONG THE ADIABATIC SHEAR BANDS. SECONDLY, BASE ON THE ESTABLISHED SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE OF [100] ORIENTED B.C.C. W SINGLE CRYSTALS IN BALLISTIC IMPACT, IT IS PROPOSED TO IMPACT A [100] TEXTURE TO W PARTICLES IN A B.C.C. MATRIX (MN) TO ACCENTUATE THE POSSIBILITY OF FAILURE ALONG WEAK PLANES. THE ALLOYS WILL BE PROCESSED THROUGH BOTH LIQUID PHASE SINTERING AND HOT PRESSING AND SUBJECTED TO HIGH STRAIN RATE TESTS TO DETERMINE THEIR PENETRATION PERFORMANCE.