Visual Characterization of Wear in Large Caliber Weapons
Abstract
As part of the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) the Metrology and Simulation Division at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (USAYPG) has the mission to measure and record the detrimental effects of firing conventional and experimental munitions on large caliber cannon tubes. The primary objective is to ensure that the weapon to be fired will safely meet mission requirements for the quantity and energy of the munitions under live fire testing. One aspect of this mission is to conduct physical measurements on rifled and smooth bore cannon tubes. The measured value is compared to the acceptable tolerance; from this the disposition of the weapon is then determined. In the past physical measurements were taken with a 'star gage'. The star gage is used to measure wear on rifled cannon tubes. This device measures the wear of the reference 'land and groove' at the zero and 90 degree positions respectively. Although this method offers a high degree of precision, faults that exist at other positions are not recorded. As a result of this limitation, wear phenomena such as erosion or build up could not be quantified. Recent developments in barrel measurement instrumentation have expanded the analytical capabilities of the status quo. Instead of two data points, 2000 data points may be measured from 0 to 360 degrees. From this data, tooth profiles for rifled barrels and wear in smooth bore cannon tubes may be displayed and three-dimensional models may be developed. Different algorithms have been developed to display collected data from a variety of perspectives. The resulting types of perspectives and the visual characterization of different types of wear will be examined in the body of this paper.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 26, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADP012484
Entities
People
- Dominick Salafia