LIGHTWEIGHT COMPOSITE CERAMIC LINED GUN BARRELS

CERAMIC LINED COMPOSIED GUN BARRELS OFFER A NEAR IDEAL MATERIALS COMBINATION TO PRODUCE LIGHT WEIGHT GUN BARRELS THAT WILL WITHSTAND 20-30 MM RAPID FIRE BALLISTIC CYCLE OF 1600-1800 DEG F AND PRESSURE UP TO 70,000 PSI FOR LESS THAN 5 MILLISECONDS AT APPROXIMATELY 1/2 THE WEIGHT OF STEEL BARRELS. A UNIQUE FABRICATION METHODOLOGY WILL BE UTILIZED TO APPLY A COMPRESSIVE METAL LAYER TO A CERAMIC LINER SUCH AS SI(3)B(4)M, SIC OR COMPOSITE ALUMINA AND THEN OVERWRAPPED WITH AN EPOXY COMPOSITE LAYER TO FORM THE LIGHT WEIGHT MULTI-LAYER COMPOSITE GUN BARREL FOR USE ON AIRCRAFT AND OTHER DEFENSE APPLICATIONS. THIS PROGRAM WILL SELECT MATERIALS, DEVELOP A COMPUTER DESIGN MODEL, DEMONSTRATE FABRICATION METHODOLOGY AND FABRICATE COMPOSITE BARRELS FOR BURST TEST AND FIRING.