Blockade-HT: Thermal and Environmental Barrier Coating for Artillery Projectiles

High Mach speeds are required to achieve rapid deployment of projectiles at extended ranges (>70km) with Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA). Hypersonic speeds of Mach 5 and higher can create high thermal loads. It is well known that thermal stresses on munitions can cause detrimental melting and deformation of the projectile, resulting in a potentially compromised the payload and loss of long-range accuracy. To mitigate these unwanted thermal effects, a thermal protection coating (TPC) may be used. Current TPC materials are deposited on substrates utilizing air plasma spray, vapor deposition, sputtering, and slurry deposition. Luna Labs USA proposes a conformal sol-gel TPC solution termed Blockade HT, which can be applied via common processes such as spray, brush and dip application. The Blockade HT sol-gel chemistry and simple application process will lead to lower costs and more widespread use as compared to traditional TPC technologies. By controlling the sol-gel components, coating thickness, and number of coating layers, the thermal protective properties of the coating will be tailored to protect the underlying substrate. This project is expected to meet the ArmyÆs need for thermal protection coatings for artillery projectiles.