Researches On The Theory And Application Of Composite Barrel

Barrel is the main component of the automatic weapon. The barrel mass occupies a large proportion in the whole of the automatic weapon. So the lightweight technology of the barrel is very important for the weight reduction design of the automatic weapon. Improved structure and lightweight material are considered to be effective. Now, the relatively thorough research on mechanical properties and thermal characteristics of the large caliber gun barrel has been made. Compared with the large caliber gun barrel, the automatic weapon barrel has its own characteristics such as thinner wall, successive firing and lower thermal capacity. So lightweight technology of the large caliber gun barrel can be used for reference but cannot be copied.The research contents and main conclusions are as follows:1. Based on the microanalysis models, by using micro-analytics and finite element method(FEA), the prediction method and model of the hybrid composites macro-parameters such as macro- coefficient of thermal expansion, macro- elastic constants and macro-thermal conductivity have been derived.2. Based on the continuum damage mechanic theory and extended Tsai-Wu failure criterion, by using energy-based stiffness degradation method, the progressive failure process and mechanism of steel-carbon fiber/aromatic polyimide composite laminates has been predicted. For carbon fiber/aromatic polyimide composites, three failure modes:fiber breakage, matrix cracking and fiber/matrix interface failure are included in the present model. The yield internal pressure and burst internal pressure of the composite gun barrel have also been predicted. The winding angle of the fiber has been efficiently optimized by curve fitting optimization method.3. Segment enwound composite gun barrel was proposed to improve the heat dissipation performance. In a special firing criterion, simulation study on temperature field of segment enwound composite gun barrel has been conducted by FEA, and the results are compared with the composite laminated barrel. Experimental study has also been conducted by real-time infrared temperature measurement. The experimental results are consistent with the numerical prediction results.4. A three-dimensional transient thermo-structure coupling analysis on the composite barrel with metal liner subjected to successive firing is conducted by FEA. Because of the consideration of the whole structure, the results of coupling analysis are more detailed and visual, which are valuable for the application of the composite barrel.5. An integration analytical software for composite barrel were developed in VB program environment. The software contains macro performance prediction module, damage mechanism analysis module, temperature field analysis module, whole gun barrel analysis module and so on.