a Bureau of Stanaaros

Ibrary, S.W. Blds^

JUL 1 1380

PB 151405

^eckniccil ^^ot& 46

EXPERIMENTAL PLATING

OF GUN BORES TO

RETARD EROSION

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

Functions and Activities

The functions of the National Bureau of Standards are set forth in the Act of Congress, March,

3, 1901, as amended by Congress in Public Law 619, 1950. These include the development and

maintenance of the national standards of measurement and the provision of means and methods for

making measurements consistent with these standards; the determination of physical constants and

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NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

technical N^ote

46

MAY 1960

EXPERIMENTAL PLATING OF GUN BORES

TO RETARD EROSION

Vernon A. Lamb and John P. Young

The work described in this Technical Note was sponsored

by the Department of the Navy, Bureau of Ordnance; the Department of the Army, Office of the Chief of Ordnance,

ORDTS; and Springfield Armory.

NBS Technical Notes are designed to supplement the Bureau's regular publications program. They provide a means for making available scientific data that are of transient or limited interest. Technical Notes may be

listed or referred to in the open literature. They are for sale by the Office of Technical Services, U. S. Department of Commerce, Washington 25, D. C.

DISTRIBUTED BY

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

OFFICE OF TECHNICAL SERVICES

WASHINGTON 25, D. C.

Price $2.50
CONTENTS

Page

1. HISTORY OF GUN BARREL PLATING 1

2. RESULTS OF THE PROGRAM SPONSORED BY THE

NATIONAL DEFENSE RESEARCH COMMITTEE 2

3. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES REQUIRED IN BORE

SURFACE COATINGS 4

4. CHARACTERISTICS OF ELECTRODEPOSITED

CHROMIUM AS RELATED TO ITS APPLICATION

TO GUN BORES 4

5. METHODS AND PROCEDURES FOR CHROMIUM

PLATING GUN BARRELS 10

5.1 Preliminary treatments 10

5.2 Electropolishing 11

5. 3 Chromium plating 11

5.4 Fixtures for plating j4

5. 5 Special procedures for applying LC chromium 16

6. MISCELLANEOUS DATA RELATED TO

CHROMIUM PLATING OF TUBES 20

6. 1 Effect of anode resistance on longitudinal

variation of plate thickness 20

6. 2 Effect of trivalent chromium and iron on

deposit taper 20

6. 3 Effect of current density on deposit taper 25

6. 4 Effect of anode eccentricity on plate

eccentricity 25

6. 5 Changes in land contours caused by

electropolishing and plating 25

IX
Page

7. SUMMARY OF THE PERFORMANCE OF

CHROMIUM PLATE IN BARRELS.

CALIBER . 22 TO 3 INCHES 28

7.1 Caliber . 22 barrels 28

7.2 Caliber . 30 barrels 29

7.3 Caliber . 45 pistol barrels 32

7.4 Caliber . 50 barrels 32

7.5 Caliber . 60 barrels 45

7.6 20 mm barrels 48

7.7 30 mm barrels 57

7.8 40 mm barrels 57

7.9 3 inch-50 caliber barrels 64

8. MISCELLANEOUS TESTS OF GUN BARRELS 66

8. 1 Heat-treatment of chromium plated barrels 66

8.2 Injection cooling of gun bores 68

8. 3 Tests of barrels coated by the "Chromizing"

process 74

8.4 Tests of barrels pre -treated by "Vapor -Honing" ^^

8. 5 Tests of barrels plated with "Crack-Free" chromium- 79

8. 6 Bore coatings for combined corrosion and erosion

protection of barrels for submarine service 80

8. 7 Tests of barrels chromium plated by the

Hausner process 83

111
Page

8.8 Experimental rifling designs 85

9. OPERATING PROCEDURES 89

9.1 High speed plating 89

9. 2 Application of LC chromium without

forced solution flow 93

9.3 High speed electropolishing 93

9.4 Gas -port plating 93

lU. FUTURE WORK 96

11. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 97

REFERENCES 98

IV
EXPERIMENTAL PLATING OF GUN BORES

TO RETARD EROSION

by

Vernon A. Lamb and John P. Young

Methods for plating the bores of gun barrels are described,

including details of fixture design, solution composition, and

operating conditions. Eixtensive firing tests were performed,

which show that chromium plate increases the life of barrels

about 2- to 5-fold, depending on the type and caliber of barrel.

Optimum thickness of plate ranges from 0. 0015 inch in the

smallest calibers to 0. 015 inch in cannon.

Certain modifications of the barrels enhance the improve - ment provided by the chromium plate. Choking of the bore at

the muzzle produces a marked improvement in accuracy life

of caliber 0. 30 and 0. 50 barrels. It is less effective in barrels

of larger caliber. Specially shaped lands, designed to reduce

the concentration of engraving stresses at land corners, significantly improve the performance of 20 mm barrels. Other modifications, such as hardening of the basis steel by nitriding and

increasing the length of the land "run-up", result in moderate

improvements in some types of barrels. Physical properties of

the chromium plates tested were varied. Ordinary "hard"

chromium yields the best performance in most types of barrels.

Chromium plating has been adopted as standard production

practice tor caliber 0. 30, 0. 50, and 20 mm barrels, and for

several calibers of cannon.

1. HISTORY OF GUN BARREL PLATING

Application of plated coatings to gun barrels has a fairly long

history. In 1921, de Sveshnikoff and Haring of NBS carried out

some experiments (1) in which they deposited nickel, copper, and

iron in gun bores. They made no firing tests, but recommended

that further studies be made, preferably, with iron, nickel, cobalt,

and chromium.
Between 1926 and 1928 some caliber . 30 machine gun barrels

were chromium plated and tested at Frankford Arsenal by Major

J. McDonald and Willard Scott (2). This work was continued at

Frankford Arsenal by Lt. A. Willink (3). These tests did not indicate that chromium plating resulted in any outstanding improvement in barrel life.

From 1928 to about 1944, plating of the bores of Naval guns

from calibers of 1. 1 to 16 inches with 0. 0005 to 0. 001 inch thickness of chromium was standard production practice at the Washington Naval Gun Factory. These thin coatings did not greatly

increase the life of the barrels, but no doubt furnished some protection against corrosion, especially in sea atmospheres. Additional early interest in chromium plated gun barrels was also

evidenced by patents in this field (4, 5). Further tests by the Army

Ordnance Department of a few barrels chromium plated by commercial firms still did not indicate any outstanding improvement

due to chromium plating (6).

None of this early work was extensive or systematic, and only

thin coatings were tried. The work done under the program at

NBS has shown that a thick chromium plate does result in significant improvement in the life of a gun barrel. Similar findings

were made by Springfield Armory (7, 8), by Battelle Memorial

Institute, and Woolwich Arsenal, England (18).

2. RESULTS OF THE PROGRAM SPONSORED BY THE

NATIONAL DEFENSE RESEARCH COMMITTEE

The initial portion of the experimental program at the National

Bureau of Standards was performed in cooperation with the Geophysical Laboratory, under sponsorship of Division 1 of the

National Defense Research Committee. The results of this portion of the program have been published elsewhere (9). For the

sake of completeness of this report, the progress made under

the above sponsorship (through 1945) is summarized briefly as

follows:

- 2 -
(a) Chromium electrodeposits prepared under a variety of bath

operating conditions had been tested in special erosion tests

and in barrel liners, and a type of chromium to be described

later, designated as "LC" chromium, showed some promise

of improved performance over other types of plate in gun

barrels.

(b) Methods for depositing several erosion-resistant alloys, such

as cobalt-tungsten, had been developed and sonae erosion

tests of these materials had been made.

(c) Work with the caliber . 50 aircraft machine gun barrel had

progressed to a point where the nitrided and chromium

plated barrel with a muzzle choke had a life about five -fold

that of the standard barrel. Pilot-plant and later full-plant

production was in effect at Doehler-Jarvis Company, Grand

Rapids, Michigan (under an Army contract). Even better

performance of the caliber . 50 barrel had been achieved with

chromium ahead of a Stellite liner and this type was also in

production. *

(d) Similar development had been started, but not completed to

the production point, with caliber . 30, . 60, and 20 mm

barrels.

''The NBS program did not include Stellite liner development.

- 3 -
3. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES REQUIRED IN BORE SURFACE COATINGS

Work done by NDRC Division 1 showed that, to resist erosion, the

bore surface material should have a high melting-point, high hotstrength and hot-hardness, adequate ductility both hot and cold,

should undergo no abrupt change of volunne with temperature, and

should be resistant to chemical attack by hot powder gases.

Unfortunately, no such ideal material exists. Extensive tests

have shown that of all of the elements, only the following and some

of their alloys are resistant to chemical attack by powder gases:

chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, nickel, cobalt,

copper, and certain platinum -group metals (10). The latter are

too expensive and scarce to consider, and the melting points of

nickel, cobalt, and copper are too low. Of the remaining resistant

elements, only chromium can be electrodepo sited readily. Molybdenvim, txingsten and tantalum cannot be deposited from aqueous baths.

Work has been done on the development of fused salt (II) and nonaqueous baths, but the methods to date are still in the laboratory stage.

Alloys of molybdenum and tungsten with cobalt can be deposited from

aqueous baths and have some favorable properties, such as good resistance to powder gases and adequate ductility. They have therefore

been tried in gun barrels, but have been inferior to chromium, mainly

owing to low hot-hardness and to vmcertain adhesion.

One is therefore left with chromium as the only pure metal that

can be electrodeposited that has chemical and physical properties

approaching those required. These properties will be briefly described.

4. CHARACTERISTICS OF ELECTRODEPOSITED CHROMIUM

AS RELATED TO ITS APPLICATION TO GUN BORES

As noted before, chromixim has excellent chemical resistance to

powder gases. Its physical properties in part fulfill the requirements

stated. For example, its melting-point of approximately 1900 C is

amply high. We have never observed evidence of melting of chromium

plate in a gun bore. Extensive work on other physical properties of

electrodeposited chromium has been reported (12). In Table 1 are

summarized the operating conditions and deposit properties for three

"types" of chromium that have been tried in gun bores.

- 4 -
TABLE 1

Correlation between operating conditions of the plating bath and

some properties of the plates, for three types of electrodeposited chromium

Solution composition: Cr03, 250 g/ liter; H2SO4, 2. 5 g/ liter

Type

Standard

hard chromium (HC)

Medium Soft or low

hardness (MH) contraction (LC)

Operating

temp. C 50 75 85

Current density

(amp/dm^) 20 60 80

Hardness (Knoop)

at room temp. 920

at 600 C 167

at 800 C 70

685 550

111

48

Ductility zero zero zero

Tensile strength

(lb/in2) 15,000* 70,000

Oxide content

(wt % O2) 0.4

Linear contraction

after heating (%)

to 450 C 0.3

to 1200 C 0..8

0. 12

0.1

0.05

0.1
Standard hard chromium is designated "HC" for its relatively high

degree of contraction as a result of successive heating and cooling.

This phenomenon is probably the result of loss of water and hydrogen

from hydrated oxides that are occluded in the plate. Its hardness is

adequate, since swaging of the plate itself is rarely a cause of gun

barrel failure. Its main defects for gun barrel service, which are

revealed in Table 1, are: (a) it is brittle; and (b) successive cycles

of heating and cooling result in contraction which causes widening

of the inherently present stress -cracks. These adverse properties

lead to eventual failure of the plate in a gun barrel by the following

mechanisms. First, owing to its brittleness and low tensile strength,

the plate may chip off by breaking within itself, especially at highly

stressed locations such as land corners. The local thinning of the

plate by this mechanism results in reduced protection to the underlying steel in tiiese areas. Second, hot powder-gases gain access

to the steel below the plate through cracks. The steel undergoes

chemical attack and is melted by the hot powder gases, with the formation of a mushroomed cavity iinder the plate at a crack site. Joining of two such cavities under the plate by their lateral growth, resiolts

in removal of chromium from the bore, and erosion of the exposed steel

proceeds at an accelerated rate. Figures 1 and 2 show typical failures

of these types.

The second mechanisnn of failure described above is partly the

result of the poor chemical resistance and low melting point of steel.

Another mechanism of failure is related to the low hot-hardness of

steel. Under impact from the projectiles, the steel of the lands

xuider the plate flatters out. The steel of the land flows both forward

and laterally. Forward flow may produce a constriction in the bore,

and lateral flow increases the land diameter and decreases the groove

diameter. Figure 3 shows the latter effect. This distortion of the

original surface contour results in buckling and cracking of the plate,

which opens the way to erosion of the basis steel. In spite of the above

types of failure, properly applied HC chromivun produces a significant

improvement in barrel life.

It was apparent, however, that if the chromium were stronger and

more ductile, and if the basis steel had better hot -hardness, barrel

improvement would be much greater. Therefore "low -contraction"

chromitim (Table 1) was tried, in conjunction with hardening of the

steel by nitriding. Nitriding of the basis steel has been found to

reduce the extent of barrel failure due to swaging. Low-contraction

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chromium results in better barrel life in some types and calibers

of barrels, while in others it is no better than the HC type. Its

chief defect is its low hot-hardness at medivim high temperatures

(400-500 C), which permits flattening of the lands due to swaging

of the plate and steel. This deformation of the bore resxilts in loss

of barrel accuracy. "Medixim -hardness" plate (Table 1) has been

tried in the hope that it would combine the favorable properties of HC

and LiC plates. Unfortunately, the intermediate hardness plate has

been found to combine their unfavorable properties.

In attempting to obtain greater improvennent in barrel life than

is afforded by chromium plate, a variety of other coatings have been

tried. Some of these are: duplex coatings of HC and LC chromium;

duplex coatings of chromium with copper, cobalt, or cobalt-tungsten

alloy; cobalt and nickel alone; alloys of chromium with iron, nickel,

and cobalt; and alloys of cobalt with tungsten (13). None of these are

superior to chromium.

5. METHODS AND PROCEDURES FOR

CHROMIUM PLATING GUN BARRELS

5. 1 Preliminary treatments

There is no real difference between the processing steps reqtiired

for preparing and plating giux barrels and those, for plating many ordinary

items. Following is a brief summary of the steps involved.

(a) Degrease the gun barrel by any standard method.

(b) Remove, by standard acid pickling, any scale or film that

may be present, e.g. , from Parkerizing or nitriding.

Mechanical scrubbing with a cloth patch or a brush on a

ramrod may be helpful in this step.

(c) Inspect the bore visually with a horoscope. If smears of

copper, resulting from proof-firing, are present, remove

them with any suitable copper stripping solution, e.g., a

standard chromic acid-sulfuric acid conaposition, a proprietary solution, or by making the bore anodic in a chromic

acid solution.

(d) Rinse, dry, and measure the bore diameter with a "star -gage"

or other suitable bore gage.

(e) Calculate the thickness of steel to be removed by electro

polishing and the electropolishing time. The thickness of

steel to be removed depends on the initial bore diameter^

the thickness of plate to be applied, and the final bore

diameter.

- 10 -
(f) Assemble the fixtures and carry out electropolishing for

the calculated length of time.

(g) Dismantle the fixtures, rinse and dry, and measure the

bore diameter.

5. 2 Electropolishing

Electropolishing is a valuable accessory process in gun bore

plating, because: (a) it provides a convenient naethod for enlarging

the bores of stock barrels before plating; (b) it produces a desirable

rounding of land corners, thus preventing build-up of a bead of plate

at this point, as shown in Figure 4; and (c) it removes small slivers and

burrs of steel that remain after machining operations, thus contributing to the production of smooth, nodiile-free, chronnium plates.

The process has been described frequently in the literature.'"'

The following solution composition and operating conditions have

been found practical (14):

Phosphoric acid (commercial 85%) 50% by volume

Sulfuric acid (commercial 95%) 50% by volume

Temperature 40-60 C

Anodic current density 25 to 50 amp/dm

Density 1. 69 to 1 . 74 g/cc

Permissible concentration of

dissolved salts, Fe plus Cr 70 g/liter

Rate of steel removal 0.003 to 0.006 inch/hr.

The lower values of temperature and current density have usually

been used, e. g. , 40 C and 25 amp/dm , but higher values, such as

60 C and 50 amp/dm can be used. In general, the higher current

densities result in less iiniform removal of steel from end-to-end of

the bore. This is shown in Figure 5.

5.3 Chromium plating

The solution composition and operating conditions are indicated

in Table 1, though for application of HC chromium, the higher plating

rates obtained at higher temperatures and current densities, e. g. , 55 C and 30 to 35 amp/dm , are often used. Operations immediately

preceding plating are indicated as follows:

*At the beginning of the gun barrel plating progrann, valuable

information was obtained informally from C. L. Faust of

Battelle Memorial Institute.

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5. 3. 1 Cleaning

Several methods of cleaning the bore are suitable, but usually one

of the following is used: (a) scrub mechanically with a cloth cleaningpatch or a brush on a ramrod, using a mixture of pumice and hydrochloric acid, followed by rinsing; or (b) assemble the fixtures and

apply a short electropolish, rinse thoroughly, and transfer immediately to the chromic acid anodic etch. We prefer the latter method

and have found that it results in slightly superior and more uniform

adhesion, as measured by the results of firing tests of 40 mm barrels.

The work of Williams and Hammond (15) also shows that a similar

treatment results in excellent adhesion.

5. 3. 2 x\nodic etching

Anodic etching is done in a chromic acid bath, which may be

the plating bath, but is preferably a separate bath, containing no

sulfate. Use of a separate etch bath free of sulfate avoids introduction of iron into the plating bath (resulting from anodic attack of the

bore surface) and also prevents formation of a chromium deposit on

the center electrode, which would subsequently dissolve in the plating

bath. Barrels are etched anodically for 3 to 5 minutes at 50 C and

20 amp / dm . Carefully controlled firing tests showed that a relatively

long anodic etch resulted in improved adhesion of the plate. Etching

time of longer than five minutes yielded even better adhesion, but could

not be generally used because on some steels a passivating film was

formed that prevented complete covering by chromium,

5. 3. 3 Plating

Transfer the barrel to the plating tank, etch anodically for an

additional period of 15 to 30 seconds, then reverse the current, making

the barrel cathodic. Plate under the selected operating conditions for

the calculated length of time.

5. 3. 4 Final operations

At the end of the plating period, remove the barrel from the plating

tank, rinse, dismantle the fixtures, dry, measure the diameter of the

bore, and inspect it visually.

5. 4 Fixtures for plating

Typical fixtures are shown in Figure 6. A concentric electrode

is held in place along the axis of the bore with insulating plugs in the

end caps. The end caps are drilled with holes for solution circulation.

The barrel is plated in a vertical position. Some important criteria

for good fixture design are as follows:

- 14 -
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(a) End caps should seat positively so that they cannot wiggle

or tip, thus misaligning the electrode.

(b) All surfaces on which anode concentricity depend must be

machined to close tolerances of fit and concentricity.

"Close tolerances" is a relative term in this case. For

a caliber . 30 barrel the anode should be concentric within

0. 001 to 0. 002 inch, while for a 3-inch cannon, an eccentricity of 0. 020 to 0. 030 inch may be permissible.

(c) Electrical connections must have adequate current-carrying capacity.

(d) The cross -sectional area of the solution circulation holes

must be sufficient so that flow of the solution is not restricted, e. g. , two to four times the cross -section of the

bore.

The diameter of the electrodes and the material from which

they are made varies widely, depending on the caliber of the

barrel and the desired longitudinal distribution of the plate thickness. In all cases, plating anodes are coated with lead, or with

an alloy of 90% lead- 10% tin, which can be conveniently electrodeposited (16). The lead-tin alloy coating is necessary on anodes

used for applying LC chromium, since at 95C a high-resistance

film is formed on pure lead.

5. 5 Special procedures for applying LC chromium.

The high current density employed in depositing LC chromium

results in excessive longitudinal taper in the thickness of the deposit, with the thickness much less at the upper end of the bore

(Figure 7). Two factors operate to produce this effect, namely,

entrainment in the solution of the hydrogen and oxygen formed at

the electrodes, and a slight rise of the temperature of the solution as it passes upward through the bore. Entrainment of the

gases causes an increase in the electrical resistance between the

electrodes at the upper end of the bore. A higher solution temperature lowers the cathode efficiency. The temperature of the solution

was measured at both the inlet and outlet of the bore while LC

chromium was being plated. The observed temperature difference

of 2 C is too small to cause a significant change in cathode efficiency. Therefore gas entrainment must be the main cause of

the taper.

To eliminate this taper, three methods were tried, as follows:

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5. 5.1 The moving anode method

A short anode, e.g. , one-fifth of the bore-length, is graduallydrawn through the bore. This method does produce a uniform deposit.

However, the method was unsatisfactory because the deposits had

poor adhesion. The poor adhesion was caused by the formation of a passive film on the surface of the bore at areas ahead of the naoving

anode. These areas were in prolonged contact with the hot chromic

acid solution before being covered with chromium. No remedy was

found for this defect in the method.

5.5.2 The anode resistance method

In theory, it should be possible to design an anode with longitudinally varying resistance such that the drop in voltage and current

along the anode exactly compensates for the gas -bubble and the temperature effects, with a resultant plate of uniform thickness. This has

been accomplished with 20 mm barrels, but it is not as yet a generally

practical method. A closely related method was successful with a

3 inch-50 caliber barrel, in which the bore diameter was tapered by

electropolishing with a moving cathode to compensate for the taper

in the chromium deposit.

5.5.3 The pximp -plating method

This method, which was successfiil, consists of pumping the

plating solution through the bore at a high velocity. The concentration

of gas -bubbles at the upper end of the bore is reduced because the

bubbles are removed from the bore rapidly and they are also compressed.

Longitudinal temperature variation is also eliminated. It was found that,

as an approximation, flow velocities 7 to 10 times the natural flow velocity practically eliminated longitudinal taper in plate thickness under plating conditions of 85 C and 80 amp/ dm . Lower flow rates may be used

to produce small controlled tapers, thus creating intentionally choked

muzzles. Pump-plating data are summarized in Figure 7 and Table 2.

It has been reported in the literature on chromium plating that a high degree of agitation reduces the cathode current efficiency. In

this work, it was found that these high flow-rates did not reduce the

cathode efficiency.

In one case, in the plating of a barrel with an exceptionally high

ratio of length to bore diameter, it was necessary to p\imp-plate to

apply HC chromium uniformly. This was a 20 -mm barrel (0. 787 inch

bore diameter) with a length of 96 inches.

18 -
TABLE 2

Longitudinal variation of the thickneas of chromium plate in several calibers

of barrels aa a function of operating variables

Caliber Length Temp.

Current

density

(inch) (C) (amp/dm )

Anode

Diam.

( inch) Metal Time Flow rate*(hr) (liter per min)

Plate thickness on lands (mila) at given distance (inch) from lower end of barrel

0. 3 inch 50 20 0. 1 Cu 2.5

50 20 0. 1 Al 3.8

50 20 0.1 Steel 5.5

85 60 0.1 Steel 3.0

85 80 0.1 Cu 2.7 5.0

1.1 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2

1.8 1.8 1.8 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.6 3.3 3.. 6 4.0

1.4 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9

3.3 3.7 3.9 3.8 3.6 3.3

0.5

0.5 inch 45 50

50

50

508585

15

1520

2080

80

0.187 Cu 17.0 0.25 Cu 11.0 0.219 Steel 5.0 0.187 Steel 6.5

0. 187 Cu 2.4 0.187 Cu 3.2

20

27

6.3 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.8 4.0 4.3 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.8

1.4 1.4 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.1 1.5 1.6 1.7 2.2 3.6 5.3 6.0 - 5.4 3.5 3.0 2.8

6.8 - 6.8 6.1 6.0 5.9

0.5 25 45 54

. 6 inch 60 50 20 0.25 Cu 4.8

50 20 0.375 Steel 6.0

55 30 0.25 Cu 6.2

55 30 0.25 Steel 3.5 85 80 0.25 Cu 1. 1 85 80 0.25 Cu 1.3 24

2.5 2.1 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.0 1.7

3.8 3.5 3.3 3.4 3.7 . 4.0

5.7 5.7 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.6

1.6 1.8 1.7 2.7 3.3 . 6.7

5.2 3.0 1.5 1.2 0.8 0.8 1.0 4.1 3.3 3.5 3.9 3.2 2.9 3. 1

0.5 25 35

20 mm 50 20 0.25 Cu 19.2

55 35 0.25 Cu 10.0

65 100 0.25 Steel 1.0

9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5

11.5 11.5 11.3 11.5 U.O 10.7 10.7 6.5 6.0 6.0 5.5 6.0 5.5 5.5

0.25 60

88 55 35 0.5 Cu 5.2 - 6.0 5.5 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0

85 75 0.5 Cu 5.0 28** 8.0 7.0 5.8 5.2 4.8 4.6 3.5 85 70 0.5 Cu 5.0 >200 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.3 5.2 4.7

64 84 104 124

55 35 1.25 Cu 4

85 75 1.25 Cu 5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 6.5

3.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 U.O 10.0 7.0 7.0 6.0

* With the exception noted below (Note **) all barrels were plated with natural solution flow unless a value for flow rate is given

in this column, in which case the solution was pumped. By natural flow is meant the flow of solution induced through the bore by rising gas bubbles. ** Plated witii natural solution flow.
Pump-plating equipment is relatively simple. Three designs

are shown schematically in Figure 8. The designs shown as A

and B have been used with good results, but C is believed best for

production plating.

6. MISCELLANEOUS DATA RELATED

TO CHROMIUM PLATING OF TUBES

6. 1 Effect of anode resistance on longitudinal

variation in plate thickness

It was found that most types and calibers of barrels are improved in both target pattern size and accuracy life if the bore

diameter tapers gradually to a smaller value at the muzzle (17).

By applying a plate having a tapering thickness, a choke can be

produced much more easily than if it were made by machining.

The value of the choke was first discovered during our work in

1944. It was produced by a combination of enlargement of the bore

at the breech end and constriction of the bore at the muzzle end.

Breech enlargement was obtained by electropolishing with the breech

end up, and muzzle constriction was obtained by plating in the same

position with a copper anode, which yielded a plate that was slightly

thicker at the muzzle end. In September of 1944, a British report

appeared (18) which confirmed the value of the choked muzzle, but

their method for obtaining the choke by utilizing the resistance of a

lead-coated steel anode was more practical and was adopted by NBS.

By suitable selection of anode resistance, almost any desired longitudinal configuration of plate can be obtained. This is illustrated

in Figures 9 and 10.

6. 2 Effect of trivalent chromium and iron

in the plating bath on deposit taper

When plating is carried out with a resistance anode, the presence

of trivalent chromium or iron in the plating bath appreciably decreases the degree of longitudinal taper in the thickness of the plate.

This is shown in Figure 11. We postulate that the effect is primarily

due to the fact that the trivalent ion causes an increase in cathode

efficiency which varies inversely with the current density. This

effect is of much importance in production plating of gun barrels to

close diametral specifications. Control of the concentration of

trivalent chromium is therefore usually necessary (19, 20). To avoid

the necessity for controlling the concentration of trivalent chromium,

certain production contractors have compensated its effect by the use

of tapered anodes or by obtaining part of the required bore taper by

means of special electropolishing procedures (see Section 7. 4. 1. 7).

- 20 -
c:-^

CR BATH

85''

C

^y//y// 7

//

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

B

I

CR BATH

85''

C

e

m

UZ^

c

^

////// / / y //////// ///

Figure 8. Diagrara of three pump-plating systems.

A - Open stand method.

B - Tank submersion method.

C - Quick -assembly method. In C, F is a quick-change solution-inlet fitting

to which the barrel is connected by a taper joint or a one -half turn thread

(detail not shown). J is a steel jacket which serves to collect the overflow

fronn the top of the barrel and return it to the tank. In each case G is the

gun barrel. An auxiliary chromium solution maintained at 50 to 55 C is

required in each case, for anodic etching prior to plating (not shown for

B and C). Auxiliary items such as a flow -meter, pressure -gage, and

flow-control valve are not shown.
X "O

11 

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6. 3 Effeict of current density on deposit taper

The effect of current density on the longitudinal variation in the

thickness of the deposit can be seen by examining the data in Table 2.

In general, increase in current density decreases the relative thickness of the plate at the upper end of the bore,

6.4 Effect of anode eccentricity on plate eccentricity

Circumferentially vmiform thickness of plate in a gun barrel is

very important. Obviously, if the plate is only a fraction of the required

thickness for good performance on one side of the bore, as a result of

anode eccentricity, the firing-life of the barrel will be sub-standard.

The results of a few measurements in caliber . 50 barrels are

shown in Figure 12. As a rule-of-th\imb criterion, we have designed

fixtures on the basis that the radial eccentricity of the anode should

not be more than 2% of the anode to cathode distance. Interpolating

in Figure 12, an anode eccentricity of 2% corresponds to a plate eccentricity of about 15%.

In addition to maintaining close concentricity of the plating fixtures,

the anode must be straight. Experience has shown that an anode bent

even slightly does not straighten completely when assembled under tension in a barrel. The British have made a careful study of anode problems and their specification calls for miaximvim possible straightness

(21). They require a plumb-line straightness test and special packing

and handling procedures to avoid flexing the anodes during shipping and

assembly.

6. 5 Changes in land contours caused by

electropolishing and plating

At the request of the Artillery Branch, Research and Development

Division of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, a study was undertaken

in 1946 to obtain data on changes in land contours caused by electro

polishing and chromiium plating. These data were to be used in designing "as-machined" lands for barrels which were to be plated, so that

the final contours of the lands in the plated barrels woxild be as close

as possible to the standard design. In view of the more recent work

on land design described in section 8. 8, it is doubtful whether it is

worthwhile to attempt to reproduce in a plated barrel the contours of

standard machined lands. However, the data are recorded here for

the sake of comipleteness.

- 25 -
12 ESTIMATED POINT.-

DEPOSIT TREED

ON NEAR SIDE.

10

^^ze

o

<

UJ

z

o

0.019 0.030 0X>45 0.060

RADIAL DISPLACEMENT OF ANODE, INCH

0.075

Figure 12. Eccentricity of plate as a tunction of anode eccentricity.

Bore diameter, 0. 5 inch; temperature, 50 C; current

density, 20 amp/dmi ; anode diameter, 3/ 16. inch.

Tj^ - plate thickness on side near the anode, and Tp

on side far from anode.
Most of the work on this subject .utilized short sections of a 90 -mm

barrel. A few measurements were also made of the contours of the lands

in caliber .60 and 20 mm barrels.

The results with 90 mm sections are summarized as follows:

6. 5.1 Effect of electropolishing

The angle between the side -wall of the land and the radial line to

its base increases about 1. 2 degrees for each 0. 001 inch thickness of

steel removed by electropolishing, vmder polishing conditions of 50 C

and 25 amp/dm . The bath described in section 5. 2 was used. The

above value of 1. 2 degrees/mil is the average for both sides of the land.

A inarked difference was noted between the two sides of the land, with the

rate of angular increase about 50 percent higher on the side of the land

against which the rising solution impinged. Therefore, if it is desired

to retain a iiniform angle on both sides of the land, it would be necessary

to electropolish in two steps, half the time with one end of the barrel

upward, and half the time with the barrel reversed.

The width of the land decreased about 0. 001 inch for each 0. 001 inch

removed from the top of the land. Electropolishing increased the radius

of the land corner slightly, but facilities were not available for measuring the radius accurately.

6.5.2 Effect of chromium plating

The following tabulation shows the change in side -wall angle for

three values of current density:

Decrease in angle/mil of plate

20 amp/dm , 50 C 0.8 degree

30 amp/dm^, 55 C 1.3

40 amp/dm^, 60 C 1.8 "

The above values were obtained with plates in the range of thickness

of 0. 005 to 0. 008 inch. In one experiment at 50 C, 20 amp/dm , in which

the plate thickness was 0.015 inch, the decrease in angle per mil of plate

was 1.1 degrees.

- 27
At 50 C, 20 amp/dm^, and 55 C, 30 amp/ dm . no significant

distortion of the corner of the land was noted, with plates up to

0. 008 inch thick on a basis land that had been electropolished an

equal amount. However, at 60 C and 40 amp/dm , the land-comers

did build up. In one experiment \inder these conditions, the thickness of the deposit on the corner was 0. 01 inch in conaparison witii

0. 007 inch on top of the land.

In experiments in which different initial radii were formed on

different lands by filing, it was found that in order to avoid corner

build-up, an initial radius of at least 0. 01 inch was required under

0.006 inch thickness of plate (50 C, 20 amp/dm )•

Because electropolishing reduces the width of a land faster than

plating restores its width, the combination of operations results in

narrowing the top of a land about OJ0OO5 inch for each 0. 001 inch thickness of plate (50 C, 20 amp/dm )•

All of the above results were obtained with a 1 1/2 -inch diameter

anode. Several experiments repeated with a 3 -inch diameter anode

gave essentially the same results.

Experiments to deternmine the effect of electropolishing and plating on the land contour of caliber . 60 barrels showed that an electro

polish of 0. 001 inch is a satisfactory pretreatment for HC chromium,

but that longer electropolishing is desirable. For deposits of 0. 01 inch

thickness, 0. 004 to 0. 005 inch electropolish is optimum. When depositing LC chronaium, an electropolish equal in depth to the total plate thickness is necessary, or corner build-up will occur. When plating HC

chromium 0. 01 inch thick in 20 mm barrels, an electropolish at least

0. 005 inch deep is required to prevent corner build-up.

7. SUMMARY OF THE PERFORMANCE OF CHROMIUM

PLATE IN BARRELS. CALIBER . 22 TO 3 INCHES

7.1 Caliber .22 barrels

Two barrels 28 inches long were plated for the Midwest Research

Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, in April 1954. A thickness of 0. 002

inch of HC chromium was applied from the standard bath at 50 C and

15 annp/dm . The anode was lead-plated copper, 1/8 inch diameter.

- 28 -
No test data for these barrels were received by NBS, but a verbal

report from ORDTS indicated that their performance was significantlybetter than that of unplated barrels.

7.2 Caliber . 30 barrels

Experimental chromium plating of caliber . 30 barrels was started

in 1945, and four barrels were prepared under the sponsorship of NDRC.

The NDRC progrann terminated before these barrels were fired. They

were, however, tested at Dahlgren in August 1946.

This group of plated caliber . 30 barrels included two with nonnitrided steel and two with nitrided steel. Two standard unplated

barrels were fired as controls. In the plated barrels, a thickness of

0. 002 inch of HC chronnium was used, with the muzzles choked to

0. 291 to 0. 294 inch. They were fired on a schedule of two 300-round

bursts with two minutes air-cooling between bursts, and with complete

cooling after 600 rounds (abbreviated 2 x 3OO2).

The resxilts are summarized in Table 3. It is seen that the life of

liie plated barrels was four to five times longer than that of the unplated

barrels, and that the nitrided barrels were about 20 percent better than

the vmnitrided.

Not shown in the table is the fact that the barrels choked to about

0. 291 caused excessive build-up of copper in the muzzle recoil booster.

Subsequent work showed that 0. 294 to 0. 296 was an optimum muzzle

diamieter.

In January of 1946, twelve caliber . 30 barrels, numbered C-1 to

C-12, were plated for Springfield Armory. These were not nitrided.

Plate thickness was 0. 002 inch at the origin of rifling. The barrels

were divided into three groups with respect to choke: one group with

no choke, one group choked to 0. 297, and one to 0. 294 inch. We have

no report on the test results.

No further work was done with caliber . 30 barrels until 1949, after

which several groups of barrels were plated for test-firing at Aberdeen

Proving Ground. These are described in Table 4. Also included in

Table 4 is a group of barrels plated for the Aviation Ordnance Section

of Naval Ordnance.

- 29 -
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TABLE 4 Summary of caliber . 30 barrels plated for tests at Aberdeen Proving Ground

Date delivered

to APG

Description of barrels APG

Report reference Results of tests

Sept. 1949 None nitrided. All with 0.0025 inch

thickness HC Or at OR.

4 - No choke

3 - Choked to 0. 296

plus . 002

3 - Choked to 0.292

plus .002

Model M1919A6

16th Report, Schedule, continuous x 2002. The choked barrels

OCO Project and comparison Stellite -lined barrels all had lives No. TS3-3039, in the range 1200-1500 rounds. Unchoked barrels

Sept. 6, 1950 about 700 rounds. Corresponding data for plain

steel barrels not shown. Tests of Cr plate ahead

of Stellite with an intermediate choke of 0. 294

plus .002 inch recommended.

Jan. 1951 4 barrels, Model A4

None nitrided.

Stellite -lined, HC Cr

ahead of liner, 0.003

inch thick, choked to

0. 294 plus .002 inch.

No record. Schedule, continuous x 3002. 1500-1700 rounds on 1st phase, 600-900 rounds on 2nd phase.

No comparison data for unlined or plain steel barrels available.

Jan. -March 19 barrels plated for SA,

1952 and 40 for APG. Some

Stellite -lined, some plated

full-length, all 0.002-3

inch thickness HC Cr,

choked to 0. 294 plus

.002 inch.

No reports received by NBS.

April 1953 10 BAR, caliber . 30, 39th Report,

M1918A2. 5 with 0.001-2 OCO Project

inch thickness, 5 with No. TS2-2015,

0.002-3 inch thickness October 7, 1954

of HC Cr. All choked

to 0. 298-9 inch.

Schedule, 40 rounds/min. for 3 minutes,

complete cooling each 120 rounds. On this relatively mild schedule, none of the barrels

reached end of life at end of test (6000 rounds), but the chromium plated barrels had superior

erosion resistance and the chromium plating

prevented formation of metallic fouling of the bore with ball-type propellants.

Jan. 1955 8 machine gun barrels. Plated for Aviation

nitrided, 0.002 inch HC Ordnance Section of chromium, choked to Naval Ordnance

0. 294 inch.

No formal report on test procedure or performance received by NBS. Verbal

reports indicated 5 to 10 fold life in comparison with unplated barrels. No data on firing schedule.
In summary, it may be stated that no systematic study has been

made of the effect on performance of thickness and type of plate in

caliber . 30 barrels, but that the thickness of about 0. 002 inch, which

has been used in most of the test barrels, is probably a good choice.

A choke diameter of about 0. 296 inch has been established as optim\xm.

Barrels plated to these specifications have a performance life on several

firing schedules about four tiraes that of unplated barrels.

7. 3 Caliber .45 pistol barrels

During the period from January to July 1955, a total of 115 caliber

.45 pistol barrels were plated with HC chromium for ORDTS-MG. A

thickness of 0.0015 to 0.002 inch was applied. No performance data

are available to NBS.

7.4 Caliber .50 barrels

7.4.1 Aircraft type

The intensive prograra on the caliber . 50 aircraft barrel during

1944 and 1945, in cooperation with the Ueophysical Laboratory, which

involved test-firing of several hundred barrels, established many facts

and resulted in the specifications for plated barrels given in Table 5.

These specifications have been modified only slightly as the result of

later work. The performance of these barrels is described in reference

(9). Several questions concerning this type of barrel remained unanswered

at the close of the NDRC program, and these were the basis for tests that

were continued in cooperation with the interested groups in Army Ordnance,

during 1946 and 1947. Most of the test firing was done at the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Virginia. Very little work directed primarily

toward the improvement of caliber . 50 barrels has been done since 1947.

However, this barrel has been used since then as a test vehicle for

several special tests, which are described in section 8 of this report.

Following is a discussion of the tests carried out in 1946-47.

7.4.1.1 Effect of a rough chromium plate

A number of barrels plated by a production contractor were found

on proof-firing to give immediate tipping, and in some cases, complete

keyholing. Three of these barrels were examined by NBS and several

tests were made to determine the cause of this behavior. The only

visible defect was roughness of the plated bore. It was found that the

rough surface of the bore scraped off part of the material of the projectile

jacket. This probably reduced its diameter sufficiently to prevent complete

engagement with the rifling, thus resulting in reduced projectile spin.

- 32
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The chromiiim was removed from some of the rough barrels byanodic stripping in an alkali solution. The surface of the bore in

these barrels was found to be rough, corresponding to the roughness of the plate. In two of the barrels the roughness appeared to

have been caused by severe etching of the steel. The etching mayhave been the result of either defective Parkerizing or of defective

electropolishing. In one of the barrels, the roughness was of a different character, and was the result of incomplete de -coppering prior

to electropolishing. These findings are cited to show the importance

of a smoothly plated bore surface.

7.4.1. 2 Effect of exterior barrel design

This factor is of importance primarily with barrels that are

chromiiim plated ahead of a Stellite liner. Tests at the Geophysical

Liaboratory had shown that many barrels of this type failed under

severe firing schedules as a result of bulging of the steel opposite

the front end of the liner. Strengthening the barrels at this point

by shrinking on a reinforcing sleieve opposite the end of the liner

resulted in a naarked increase in the life of this type of barrel.

This type of reinforced barrel was in production for a period.

Testing of three new reinforced designs had been started, but

not completed, by the Geophysical Laboratory. Two of their designs

were designated as GLA and GLB. The third was a standard barrel

reinforced -with a -wire winding. All of these performed significantly

better than the sleeve -reinforced barrel. The best performance was

obtained with the GLB design, which had a life of 5000 to 6000 rounds

compared with a life of about 2000 rounds for the sleeve -reinforced

model. Comparative data for these barrels are shown in Table 6,

and the GLA and B designs are shown in Figures 13 and 14. Based

on our experience w^ith these barrels, a design that w^as believed to

be a further improvement was drawn, but no work was done with it

because the interest of the sponsors had shifted to the development

of larger caliber barrels.

7.4.1. 3 Hot-hard die steels as barrel materials

It has been pointed out in section 4 of this report that swaging

of the basis steel, owing to its low hot-hardness, is in part responsible

for ultimate failure of the chromium plate in a gun bore. Nitriding of

the steel is one approach toward overcoming this deficiency. , The staff

of the Geophysical Laboratory had considered the use of die steels,

which have fairly good hot-hardness to about 600 C, as experimental

barrel materials for evaluating the effect of improved hot-hardness

in prolonging the life of chromium plate. The steels selected, from

which barrels were made, are "Potomac", made by Allegheny -Ludliim;

- 34 -
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"Peerless -A" and "Cro-mow", made by Crucible Steel Company;

"TK", made by Carpenter Steel Company; and medium alloy steels

with 2% and 3% molybdenum. Plating and testing of these was completed by NBS after the close of the program at the Geophysical

Laboratory.

It was known from previous general experience that it is difficult

to obtain good adhesion of chroraium or other electroplates to these

steels. Therefore before plating the barrels, considerable work was

done on small specim.ens to develop a raethod for obtaining adequate

adhesion of the plate. A variety of acid and alkaline etch treatments,

and preplating treatments such as applying a flash of cobalt from a

cobalt fluoride bath were tried, as well as low current density anodic

and cathodic treatments in chromic acid, such as are used for plating

chromium on chromium or on stainless steels. A low current density

cathodic pretreatment in chromic acid was selected as most promising

and was used on one "Potomac" and one "Peerless A" barrel. Both

failed as a result of poor adhesion in 400 to 500 rounds. It was not

considered practicable to pursue these experiments further, and no

more work has been done along this line.

7.4.1.4 Performance of thick chromium plates

During the 1944-45 period, it had been established that about

0. 0015 inch thickness is a minimum for good performance, and that

0.002 to 0.003 inch is significantly better. Very limited tests of

thicker plates had been made. Therefore, two barrels were tested

that were plated with 0. 005 to 0. 006 inch thickness of HC chromium.

Their life on a firing schedule of 5 x IOO2* was about VOO rounds.

Nitrided barrels with chromiiim 0. 01 inch thick also had a life of

900 rounds. Comparison of these results with those given in reference

(9) (a life of 725 to 750 rounds on the same schedule) shows that the

gain with respect to barrels plated with 0.002 to 0.003 inch thickness

is significant, but probably not sufficient to warrant the additional

cost of the thicker plate, especially in view of the low barrel cost.

The same conclusion was reached regarding the value of a thicker

plate ahead of a Stellite liner.

*Five 100 round bursts with 2 minutes air-cooling between bursts,

complete cooling after 500 rounds.

- 37 -
It may be noted at this point that a thickness of 0. 005 to 0. 006

inch in this barrel yields a solid chromiiim land. That is, the plate

on the lands is not backed up laterally by steel. We have found that,

in general, in other calibers also, this situation leads to breaking

of lands with the break in the chromium itself, owing to its relatively

low strength. In caliber .60, 20 mm and 40 mm barrels, optimiun

thickness is about one -half to two -thirds of the land height. An exception is foxind in the caliber . 50 heavy barrel, where 0. 005 to 0.006 inch

thickness performs significantly better than 0.002 to 0.003 inch.

7.4.1. 5 Effect of an extreme choke

In connection with a question concerning a waiter of the specified

minimum muzzle diameter of 0.492 inch, two barrels were test-fired

that had nnuzzle diameters of 0.4V0 inch. The barrels were otherwise

the standard full-length -plated type. Velocity and accuracy were normal,

and the small muzzle diameter did not cause coppering of the muzzle

recoil booster that was used in the test. (Barrel Nos. Li2J143 and Li2J223,

May-Jtme 1946).

7. 4. 1. 6 Testing done to determine the best method

for plating ahead of Stellite liners

Maniifacture of barrels that are chromium plated ahead of a

Stellite -liner involves several problems of choice between alternative

methods. The main question is: Is it better to plate tiie bore ahead of

the liner (or liner recess) before or after insertion of the liner? From

the standpoint of the plating problems encountered, it is preferable to

plate before insertion of the liner. However, from the standpoint of

the mechanical operations and the amount of handling and shipping

involved, it is preferable to plate after insertion of the liner.

The following problems are encountered in plating after insertion

of the liner:

(a) It is very difficult to electropolish the bore aliead of the

liner without some anodic etching and chemical attack of

the liner surface.

(b) Corrosive processing solutions, including acid dips, electro

polish solution and chromic acid solution, will flow into the

minute crevices behind the liner, in the retainer threads, etc. , and may be expected to cause corrosion during subsequent

storage of finished barrels, owing to the impossibility of

completely removing these materials by rinsing after plating.

38 -
(c) It is more difficult to meet diameter and thickness specifications when plating only the short segment of bore ahead of

the liner, than when plating the full length of the bore, as

can be done when the liner has not been inserted, by using

a "dummy" liner of steel.

The results of the firing tests led to the conclusion that the performance of the barrels was the sanae whether they were plated before

or after insertion of the liner. However, no satisfactory means were

found to eliminate the etching of the liner or the possibility of corrosion

during storage, so plating before insertion of the liner became the accepted procedure.

Two difficulties were encountered in the course of the work with

Stellite -lined barrels that warrant mention. First, poor reproducibility of barrel performance made it necessary to fire a large number

of barrels. It was determined that variability in the resistance of the

Stellite liner to swaging was the main cause of the poor reproducibility.

The forward end of the liner, as a resxilt of forward flow of the Stellite,

developed an undersize constriction that sheared the projectile jacket.

This caused tumbling of the projectile, even though the bore was

in excellent condition otherwise.

The second difficulty was related to the firing schedule and was

corrected. Because of the very long life of Stellite -lined barrels,

a severe schedule was adopted by the Geophysical Laboratory to

shorten the tests. This schedule, designated as the CGLi-350 schedule,

consisted of an initial continuous burst of 350 rounds, followed by complete cooling, after which a 5 x IOO2 schedule was fired. This schedule

was originally used with the M-2 gun at a rate of fire of 700 to 800

rounds /minute. With the M-3 gun, having a rate of fire of 1000 to 1200

rounds /minute, it was found to be too severe. The initial 350 round

burst caused bulging of the reinforced barrel wall near the forward

end of the liner, which ended the test before other factors, related

to the chromiiun plate, could be evaluated. Therefore the milder

schedule of 5 x IOO2 was used, without the initial 350 round burst.

- 39 -
7.4. 1. 7 Anode designs for plating ahead of a Stellite liner

If a "d\iinmy" steel liner is used in the liner recess for plating

the forward end of the bore, plating can be done with tiie same anode

and under the same bath operating conditions as when plating a barrel

full-length. Tolerances for plate thickness and bore diameter will be

met. How^ever, the cost of investment and maintenance of plating fixtures is less if a non-conducting tube is used in the liner recess. It is then necessary to use an anode with higher electrical resistance

than is used for plating the full length of the bore, in order to obtain

the required taper in the shorter bore.

In Figures 15 and 16 is shown the longitudinal variation in plate

thickness in a liner barrel, where the non-conducting tube is used

in the liner cavity, for anodes of several different materials, diameters, and tapers. A ratio of thickness (^^^ u) of at least 2.0 is

needed in order to meet thickness and diameter specifications for

this barrel. It is seen that a 3/16 inch diameter steel anode produces

much too small a taper. The best anodes were 3/16 inch monel, or

a steel anode with a continuous taper from a diameter of 1/4 inch at

the muzzle (upper) end to 1/8 inch at the breech end.

Because of the cost of making an anode of the latter type, anodes

with stewed tapers were tried. These were made by butt-welding

segments of different diameters, and machining short tapers at the

joint. Barrels plated with anodes with very short connecting tapers,

e.g., one inch, had poor accuracy perfornnance. Longer connecting

tapers, such as 2 inches or nnore between 1/4 and 1/8 inch diameter

rods, produced satisfactory barrels. Figure 16 shows that the plate

thickness follows the anode contour rather closely. One installation

(Springfield Armory) avoided the need for a large taper in plate thickness by obtaining sonne of the taper in the electropolishing operation.

The barrels with which we worked were electropolished to a uniform

diameter.

7.4.1.8 Smooth bore barrels

It has been observed frequently by NBS and others who have worked

on chromium plated gxin barrels, that the presence of rifling in a gun

bore contributes to the failure of the chromium plate. The engraving

forces to which the plate is subjected, partic\ilarly on land corners at

the origin of rifling, are very large, and cause the chromiurn to crack.

- 40 -
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Furthermore, the plate is thin in the groove corners, and this maylead to early failure. Loss of plate at either location is the start of

the process that leads to failure of the barrel. If the bore were smooth,

these factors would be absent, and the life of the plate should be prolonged. To check this prediction, a number of smooth-bore barrels

w^ere prepared.

Barrels were obtained from Springfield Armory which had a bore

diameter of 0.499 plus 0. 002 inch, but were not rifled. The breechend enlargements referred to below were nnade by electropolishing

with a moving cathode. Twelve barrels were used for the tests.

Thicknesses of HC chromium tried ranged from 0.002 to 0.01 inch,

bore diameter from 0. 505 to 0.515 inch at the origin of rifling and

frora 0. 501 to 0. 510 inch at the muzzle. The firing tests showed

that optimum thickness was about 0. 003 inch, and optimum diameter

at the origin of rifling was 0.513 inch. A muzzle diameter greater

than about 0. 503 inch was \indesirable. These barrels were fired

with standard projectiles, which of course had no spin and therefore

tumbled, so that neither velocity nor accuracy measurements had any

meaning. Performance was judged on the basis of rate of removal of

chromium and enlargement of the bore in the region of the origin of

rifling. These criteria indicated that the life of a chromiiim -plated,

smooth-bore barrel is about 75 percent greater than that of a corresponding rifled barrel.

The caliber . 50 barrel was used in these tests only because of

its convenience. Projectiles stabilized with fins could probably not

be designed for the caliber . 50, but may be feasible for larger caliber barrels. The results indicated that smooth-bore barrels used

with finned projectiles might have a significant advantage over rifled

barrels with respect to barrel life.

7.4.1.9 Barrels plated with low-contraction (LC) chromium

Work with LC chromium in caliber . 50 aircraft barrels was done

prior to 1946 and has been described in the NDRC summary report.

It is therefore merely mentioned here for completeness. In this type

barrel, LC chromium did not give better performance than HC chromium.

- 43
7. 4. Z Caliber . 50 - 45-inch heavy barrel

The life of the heavy, 45 inch caliber . 50 machine gun barrel,

without chromium plate was much greater than that of the unplated

aircraft barrel. Therefore there was less interest in improving it

and work did not start until progress on the aircraft barrel was well

along. A few barrels were plated at NBS and fired at the Geophysical

Laboratory, but since the results were incomplete^ they were not included in detail in the NDRC Summary Report (9). Preliminary tests

included seven barrels. Three were plated with HC and four with LC

chromium, with thickness ranging from 0.0015 to 0.005 inch. Two

xinplated control barrels were also fired. The results indicated that

for equal thickness of plate, LC chromium was superior to the HC

type. With regard to thickness, 0. 00 5 inch was better than the thinner

plates. On a schedule of 5 x 100 2, the standard barrels had a life of

500 to 700 rounds, based on both accuracy and velocity drop (200 fps),

while the best plated barrel (with 0. 00 5 inch of HC chromium) had a velocity life of about 1300 rounds, but it still had good accuracy.

Based on these results, two rnore barrels were prepared with

0.005 inch thickness of LC chromium. At 1000 rounds these showed

no loss of either accuracy or velocity and at this point had lost plate

for only about one inch at the origin of rifling. Analogous barrels

plated with HC chromium lost 3 to 4 inches of plate after 1000 rounds.

The barrels plated with LC chromium were not fired further, so their

ultimate life can only be estimated. It seems certain that it would be

at least 1500 rounds on the 5 x IOO2 schedule.

To summarize, the limited tests that were made indicated that

the best performance was given -with 0. 00 5 inch thickness of LC

plate, and that the life of barrels with this plate is 2 to 3 timies that

of plain steel barrels. The barrels plated in this manner were nitrided, and the muzzles were choked to 0. 492-. 495. The effects of

the nitriding and of the choked muzzles were not tested as isolated

variables, but by analogy with the aircraft barrels and other types

of barrels tested subsequently, it is probable that these modifications

are beneficial.

The fact that the thicker LC plate is best in the heavy barrel

while the thinner HC plate is best in the aircraft barrel is of interest.

Following is a probable explanation: The heavy barrel fires at a lower

rate and the bore does not get as hot as that of the aircraft barrel.

- 44 -
Therefore swaging of the LC plate, which softens at a lower temperature

than does HC plate, does not occur in the heavy barrel. In the aircraft

barrel, LC plate fails as a result of excessive swaging. Thick HC plate

in the aircraft barrel failed because the chromium, which at this thickness formed a solid chromi\im land, unsupported by steel, was too weak

and tended to break off as a conaplete land segment. LC chromium is

sufficiently strong so that this type of failure does not occur.

In addition to the barrels described above, used for controlled

firing tests, many heavy caliber . 50 barrels were plated for other

agencies, mainly Franklin Institute and Crane Company. These were

used for special purposes and did not yield data on barrel performance

as such.

The pump-plating method described in section 5. 5. 3 was used for

applying LC chromium to these barrels.

7. 5 Caliber . 60 barrels

The successful application of chromium plating to caliber . 50

barrels resulted in a request by Army Ordnance that a study be made

of the application of chromium plating to caliber . 60 barrels. This

project was started as part of the joint Geophysical Laboratory-NBS

program, and was continued after 1945 by NBS.

About 170 caliber . 60 barrels were plated during this study.

These included barrels chromiiim plated full length, and plated

barrels fitted with either Stellite liners or with steel liners plated

with cobalt-tungsten alloy. A detailed summary of this work is

given in an NBS report (22).

Stripping of projectile jackets during firing tests was a major

problem. Extreme bore temperatures softened the basis steel,

which flowed forward \xnder impact of the projectiles, forming a severe construction at the edge of the cooler area of the barrel.

This condition was improved by forming a tapered enlargement in

the breech region of the bore for a distance of 5 to 10 inches. This

was done by electropolishing with a moving cathode. Most of the

work on caliber . 60 barrels is covered in the following six categories.

- 45
7.5.1 Barrels plated fxill -length

The caliber . 60 barrel was found to be unusual, in that for best

performance a different thickness of chromium was required in the

breech and muzzle areas. At the breech, a thickness of at least 0. 005

inch was required to prevent early erosion failure. However, if this

thickness was applied throughout the bore, the plate failed quickly in

the muzzle region due to removal caused by fractures within the chromium layer. Flexing of the barrel during firing, due to its long,

slender, design, appeared to be the most likely explanation of this

effect. If the plate thickness was less than about 0. 004 inch in the

muzzle region, the plate in this area did not fracture.

The best performiance of full-length plated barrels was obtained

with a thickness of 0. 003 inch of HC chromium in the muzzle area

(from muzzle to about 3 feet from muzzle), and with 0. 006 inch of

HC chromiiim in the breech end.

An enlarged bore at the breech end was necessary to prevent

bullet stripping as described above in section 7. 5. Optimiim diameter

at the origin of rifling of about 0. 595 inch after plating, results in an

initial velocity 50 to 70 f. p. s. below normal.

The variable thickness plate can be applied either in two operations,

with a matched junction, or in one operation with a plate of tapering thickness.

1 .5.2 Stellite -lined and plated barrels

Chromium plate 0. 003 inch thick ahead of the liner increases the

velocity life about 20 percent and the accuracy life about 50 percent,

in comparison with a Stellite -lined but unplated barrel.

7. 5. 3 Two-piece barrels and muzzle choke

It was characteristic of both plated breech sections and Stellite

liners to fail while the chromium plated muzzle region of the barrels

was in relatively good condition. In the expectation that an improved

liner would be developed, it w^as considered worth while to develop an

optimum plating system for the muzzle area. This was done by the use

of two-piece barrels, as shown in Figure 17. Separate muzzle and

breech sections were joined w^ith a threaded collar. The breech section

was periodically replaced during the testing of a given muzzle section.

Table 7 shows that the life of a muzzle section was at least 4 times

greater than that of the best breech sections.

- 46 -
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The two-piece barrels were used mainly to evaluate a choked

muzzle. Contrary to the results in other calibers, a muzzle choke

was found to produce very little improvement in the caliber . 60

barrel. A muzzle diameter of 0. 585 plus 0. 002 inch was found to

be best, but the accuracy advantage of these choked barrels over

barrels with standard muzzle diameter was so small that it may not

have been significant.

7.5.4 Other erosion-resistant coatings

Coatings other than chromium have not yielded promising results.

Cobalt-tungsten alloys have insufficient hot-hardness. Limited trials

of LC chromium indicate that it is as good or slightly better than HC,

but its small advantage is over -shadowed by the difficulties involved

in applying it.

7.5.5 Modified Stellite liners

High bore temperature in the caliber . 60 barrels resulted in

plastic flow of the Stellite which caused a constriction in the liner

bore where it bears against the forward end of the liner recess.

The constriction caused stripping of driving bands. Several liners

were modified by relieving the outside contour in various ways

(see Figure 18). A 45-degree taper on the forward end of the liner

was the easiest contour to machine and it gave the greatest reduction

in bullet stripping.

At the end of firing tests Stellite liners usually had holes melted

through the side. It was thought that poor thermal contact between

the liner and the liner recess resulted in excessive temperatures in

the liner. Two liners were plated with 0. 001 to 0. 002 inch thick

copper on the outside surface to improve conduction of heat away from

the bore. These liners have not been test fired to date.

Table 7 lists firing data for typical examples of the more important

barrel variations plated and tested. Table 8 shows a comparison of the

performance of the best types of plated barrels with that of unplated control barrels.

7. 6 20 mm barrels

The activity of this laboratory in plating and testing of 20 mm

barrels is fairly recent. Table 9 lists a few barrels plated for the

Bell and Gossett Company in 1946, and for others, mainly Aberdeen

Proving Ground, in 1950-52. However, the types and thicknesses of

plate used were empirical choices. No controlled work to determine

the optimum type, thickness, etc. of chromium plate was done with

20 mm barrels until late in 1952.

- 48 -
TABLE 7

Typical examples of several variations of caliber . 60 barrels

plated and tested by NBS

Barrel

description

Firing schedule Rounds

fired Round to 200f.p.s. vel. drop

Vel. start and Av. pattern

finish <£.p.s. ) at 1000" HxV (inch)

Remarks

Thin HC Cr (.002") on steel Cont. X 502

640 (680 f.p. s. drop

at 450 rd.

)

3544

2571

10 X 15 Cr off 7" at breech. 19"

at muzzle.

Thick HC Cr (.006") on nitrided steel Cont. x502

199 3514

3508

14 X 17 Breech O. K. Cr off lands

at muzzle.

Thick HC Cr (.006") on nitrided steel. Enlarged bore

at breech

Cont. X 50, 440 325 3479 2992

10 X 16 Cr off 12" at breech. Some

Cr off at muzzle.

*Thin HC Cr (.0025") on nnuzzle, thick LC Cr

(. 009") on breech. Not nitrided.

6 X 5O2 358 3320 Cr partly off 4-5" at breech. Muzzle O.K.

Schedule inter- rupted during 3rd burst.

*Thin HC Cr (.0025") on muzzle, thick HC Cr

(.005") on breech.

Nitrided steel.

Cont. X 50, 690 375 3474

2425

9 X 10 Cr O. K. at murzle. off 6" at breech.

Thin HC Cr (.002") on muzzle, thick HC Cr

(. 010") on breech. Muzzle choked . 010" on diam.

6x502 340 275 3403

2988 9x8 Cr partly off breech for 17" Evidence of poor adhesion.

Stellite liner, etched

oversize, .002" HC Cr

beyond liner. Muzzle

choked . 008" on diam.

Cont. X 50,

440 375

(hot) 3476 9x15 Slight Cr remov3291 al. Rds. tumbling

Two piece barrel, HC Cr

. 0025" thick in muzzle

section.

8 x 5O2 1759 (350 av. for breech 3423 (muzzle sections) 3125

section)

Av. 11 X 15 Some Cr off muzzle section. Bore swaged.

Rds. tumbling

during last burst. One piece barrels, plated with different thicknesses in nnuzzle and breech zones,

in separate operations, with nnatching plated diameter at the junction.
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TABLE 8

A summary of the performance of plated caliber . 60 barrels

Firing schedule - Continuous x 5O2

Average rounds to Average rounds

200 f.p. s. velocity drop to tumbling

i. 0.006" HC Cr in breech end,

0.003" HC Cr in muzzle end, 354 578

with breech bore enlargement

(0.005" diam.)

2. Stellite -lined with 0. 003" HC Cr

beyond liner 388 550

3. Control barrels

a. plain steel 108 276

b, Stellite -lined, unplated

beyond liner 308 433
TABLE 9

20 mm Barrels plated for other groups

Date Agency Barrel description of Bbls. Purpose

M24

1946 Bell & Gob sett 0.01" HC Cr 3 .- 1950 Bell & Gossett 0,01" HC Cr 2 -. July 1952 APG 0.006" HC Cr 10 .. Nov. 1952 ORDTS 0.006" HC Cr 20 -- Jan. 1953 Air Force 0.006" HC Cr 35 Field tests Apr. 1953 ORX>TS 0.006" HC Cr 20 Field tests July 1953 Air Force 0.006" HC Cr 36 Field tests Apr. 1954 APG 0.006" HC Cr 6 Velocity detector -tests Apr. 1954 Midwest Res. Inst. 0.006" HC Cr 2 Multi -projectile gun test July 1954 APG 0.006" HC Cr 22 Velocity detector -tests July 1954 APG 0.006" HC Cr 10 -- Jan. 1955 APG 0.006" HC Cr 20 --

MKll

1951 APG 0.005" HC Cr 10 ..

Jan. 1952 APG 0.006" HC Cr 21 -- Mar. 1952 APG 0.006" HC Cr,

nitrided

8 --

Nov. 1952 NPG 0.006" HC Cr 6 -- July 1953 NPG 0.006" HC Cr 3 Driving band test* Apr. 1954 NPG 0.006" HC Cr 15 Ammunition tests

M39

Nov. 1952 SA 0.006" HC Cr,

2 with 1/16" radius on

br. corner

12

Jan. 1953 SA 0.006"HC const, twist

2 ^-

Apr. 1953 APG 0.006" HC Cr

special rifling, long

land run up

3 "

July 1954 APG 0.006" HC Cr 7 -- July 1954 APG 0.006"HC Cr

gain twist

1 —

Oct. 1954 APG 0.006"hC Cr

special heat treat

15 Test of steel with special

heat treatment

Jan. 1955 APG 0.006"HC Cr 12 -- Apr. 1955 SA 0.006' HC Cr 6 —

T-171

Jan. 1954 APG 0.006" HC Cr 6 --

Jan. 1955 NGF

5TG

0.006" HC Cr,

nitrided 96" barrel length,

required pump -plating

Erosion test

Barrels showed very little wear and improved the performance of plastic bands.
Since several models of 20 mm barrels have been used, and the

firing conditions and optinrixim plates vary, the different models will

be considered separately.

7.6.1 M-24 barrels

7.6.1.1 Deposit thickness

During the first quarter of 1953, nine barrels were supplied to

Aberdeen Proving Ground, that had been plated with three thicknesses

of HC chromixim as follows:

3 with 0.002-3 inch

3 " 0.003-4 " 3 " 0.004-5 "

It was reported to us verbally that the thickest plate was best.

7. 6. 1. 2 Effect of a nitrided base

In April of 1954, ten M-24 barrels plated with 0. 006 inch of HC

chromixim over nitrided steel were delivered to Aberdeen Proving

Ground for testing in connparison with barrels that were plated but

not nitrided. No report of the results has been received.

7. 6.1. 3 Long land rtm-up

The origin of rifling is the zone in a chromium plated barrel

at which failure initiates. This is due in part to the fact that it is

here that the engraving of the projectile band exerts maximum

forces on the lands, so that the plate chips from the land corners

and deforms and cracks due to yielding of the basis steel.

It was thought that if the run-up of the lands were longer (i. e. , the distance from the forward end of the bullet seat to the point at

which the lands reach full height), and hence the engraving of the

projectile occurred over a greater length of bore, the forces on the

plate and the basis steel w^ould be reduced, and this should contribute

to longer life of the plate.

The first tests of barrels witii a long run-up were completed

in the period October -December 1953. Eight barrels witii 2, 4, and

10 inch run-ups were tested at the Dahlgren Naval Proving Ground.

Indications were that the barrels with a 10 -inch run-up, plated with

0. 006 inch HC chromitim, were superior to standard plated barrels.

- 53
Therefore a more extensive test was carried out, in which a total of

22 barrels were used. The results have been described in an NBS

Quarterly Report (23). All of these barrels had a run-up of 10 to 11

inches. The results are siimmarized in Table 10.

In the two series combined, 19 of the barrels failed due to tumbling of projectiles. In most cases the tumbling was caused by swaging

of the lands beneath the chromium. The long land run-up did not give

improved barrel life when used with a type and thickness of plate that

failed by swaging rather than by removal of chromiixm. The thick

(0. 012 inch) HC chromium plate, which normally fails by loss of chromi\im because of mechanical stress on the lands, gave excellent performance in barrels with long land run-up. There is no apparent

explanation for the large spread of barrel life for a given type of barrel,

shown in "Table 10. Further work on this phase of gun barrel improvement is planned.

7.6.2 MK- 11 barrels, 20 mm

This type of barrel is fired at an appreciably higher rate of fire

and muzzle velocity than the M-24. The consequent more severe

erosion might be expected to require a different thickness, etc. of

plate than is used in the M-24. Since the Aircraft Armament Section

of the Navy Bureau of Ordnance was concerned with production of these

barrels, and it appeared that chromiiim plating would be necessary in

order to provide a practical barrel life, they requested NBS to undertake a program to develop an optimum plated barrel.

Prior to the above tests, which were started in the spring of 1955,

a number of MK-11 barrels had been plated for testing at Aberdeen by

the Naval Gun Factory, and a snnall number had been fired at the Naval

Proving Ground. The former are listed in Table 9, and the results

with the latter are combined with those for the barrels tested at the

Naval Proving Ground in 1955. The main variables were thickness,

type of plate, nitriding, and muzzle choke.

The results of tests of 56 barrels tested under this program are

shown in Table 11. Examination of these results leads to the following

conclusions:

54 -
TABLE 10

Performance of 20 mm, M24 barrels with an eleven inch run-up at the origin of rifling

Type and thick

ness of plate (inch)

No. of

barrels

Barrel life, based on data for

both accuracy and velocity (rounds)

0.003 HCCr

0.003 LC Cr

0.006 HC Cr

0.006 LC Cr

0.012 HC Cr

0.006 HC. Std. 1/4"

run-up. (Control)

4

4

4

2

2

6

Spread

2016-5245

694-3083

1863-3435

1244-1821

5353-6263

2133-5712

Average

3376

1995

2734

1533

5808

3332
TABLE 11

Perforinance of 20 mm MK-11 barrels plated in connection

with the production program of NGF and ReW4a

Data are averages of the number of barrels shown in the last column

Schedule: 12 x 5O2

Barreldescription Av. pattern at 1000" H X V (inch) Velocity, initial and final (f . p. b) Total roundsRds. at 200

f.p. 8. vel. drop

Rds. to tumblingAv. cycli

rate (r.p.

c Type of mj failure Advance of O.Bxx(inch)

No. of barrels

Nitrided steel (.025"

case) .006"HCCr

Muzzle choked 8.5x9 3303 - 2601 1690 890 1515 932 Cr removal 17.5 1

Nitrided steel

. 006" LC Cr. Muzzle choked

8.5 x8.

5

3251 - 2782 1869 1296 1670 938 Swaging and Cr removal

27.5 2

Std. steel + .006" HC Cr 12 X 12.5 3212 - 2957 1371 1088 1212 949 Swaging 45 2 Std. steel

+

.003" LC Cr 12 X 11 3252 - 2943 1270 1246 1112 945 Swaging 28 2 Std. steel

+

.006" LC Cr 10.5 X 10 3230 - 3000 M45 1027 987 960 Swaging 33 4

Std. steel + .012" LC Cr 13 X 11.5 3127 - 2853 1089 1062 1089 972 Swaging 47 2 Nitrided steel + .006" HC Cr 10.5 X 10.5 3255 - 2635 2067 1176 1661 953 Swaging Cr removal 23 3 Nitrided steel + .006" LC Cr 11 X 10.5 3201 - 2695 1600 1275 1527 941 Cr removal 35 3 Nitrided steel + .012'LC Cr 13 X 12 3156 - 2772 1261 1155 1141 949 Swaging 42.5 3 1 Std. steel Control 13 X 11.5 3244 - 3059 536 536+ 440 915 Swaging Erosion 47.5 4 Nitrided steel .006" HC Cr

Straight bore, choke control

3324 - 2680 Swaging Cr removal

Nitrided steel .003" LC Cr

Choked muzzle 9x11 3347 - 2709 1823 1245 1724 978 Swaging 30 3

Nitrided ateelxxx .003" to .006" LC Cr 14 X 13 3319 - 2688 1894 1430 1698 911 Dispersion 30 3 Nitrided steelxxx .006" HC

.012 LC Cr

15 X 13.5 3285 - 2676 1705 1377 1465 932 Swaging Cr removal

32 3

Nitrided steelxxx .006" HC. .006" LC 16.5 X 14 3334 - 2639 1849 1159 1704 909 Swaging Cr removal 32.5 2 Nitrided steel""" .003" to .006" HC Cr

L.R. n,»

15 X 13.5 3307 - 2832 1800 1580 1534 925 Dispersion 44 3

Nitrided steel x)^ .005" to .010" HC Cr

L.R. U,

13 X 11.5 3296 - 2795 1508 1403 1051 941 Cr removal 38 3

Nitrided steel .003" LC Cr

Choked muzzle

L.R. D.

3215 - 2997 1327 1329 986 Swaging

Nitrided steelxxx .003" to .006" MH** Cr

15.5 X 13 3378 - 2656 1318 793 1165 924 Swaging Cr removal

32 3

Nitrided steel .006" HS Cr*** Choked muz zle 10.5 x9 3347 - 2538 1801 963 1630 932 Swaging Cr removal

27 3

Cold test (-70C)

Nitrided steel .006" HC Cr

Choked muzzle

9 x8.5 3102 - 2584 1826 1746 951 Swaging Cr removal

*Long land run-up at the origin of rifling (approx. 10 inches). **Medium hardness chromium. ***Chromium plated at the high speed rate of 0.006 inch /hr. xxOrigin of bore. XXX Barrels described as having a range of plate thickness were plated with a tapered deposit, using a resistance anode, and have choked m,uzzle8.' Those in which a combination plate

is indicated have HC plate from the muzzle to 38 inches from the muzde, and LC plate in

tiie breech region. Taper plated barrels have thick plate at breech end. + Barrels have partial choke at muzzle, averaging about 0. 003 inch below nominal diameter.

(Full choke is 0. 006 to 0. 007 inch below nominal.

)
(a) All of the plated barrels, regardless of thickness, type of

plate, etc. , are significantly longer -lived than the unplated

control barrels by a factor of approximately 3.

(b) The performance of all of the plated barrels, regardless of

just how they are plated, has an over -all spread of about 20

percent based on velocity life, or 70 percent based on rounds

to keyholing. Keyholing generally occurs after a 200 f . p. s. velocity drop. With the differences in life this small, especially with respect to velocity, it is difficult to draw significant conclusions from this test as to what is the best plate.

(c) About 0.006 inch is an optimxim thickness.

(d) Nitriding of the basis steel produces about a 10 percent

improvement.

(e) LC plate, of the proper thickness and on a nitrided base,

is about 10 percent better than HC plate.

(f) A muzzle choke provides a 20 percent reduction in pattern

size at 1000 inches from the muzzle.

In view of the relatively small differences in performance, and

to avoid the production problems involved in applying LC chromium,

the Aircraft Armament Section of Navy Ordnance decided to adopt

0. 006 inch of HC chromixxm for production.

7.6.3 M-39 barrels, 20 mm

Several barrels were fired in tests to determine the optimum

thickness of chromium. No attempt can be made to interpret the

results as of December 31, 1955, because of the limited amount of

data available, and because of the occurrence of frequent gun stoppages during test firing. Tests are continuing.

7. 7 30 mm barrels

Eight 30 mm barrels were plated with HC chromiiom during the

fourth quarter of 1953. Three were plated with a thickness of 0. 003

inch and five with a thickness of 0.006 inch. They were delivered to

APG for test firing.

7. 8 40 mm barrels

Systematic experimental plating of 40 mm barrels was started

in the fall of 1948, shortly after the installation of plating tanks of

adequate depth. The work with these barrels was sponsored by

Section ReS5a of the Department of the Navy, Bureau of Ordnance.

- 57 -
The resxilts were of interest for application to 40 mm barrels as

such, but were also intended to apply to larger cannon. The pattern

of wear and erosion in cannon is different than in small arms, and

in general one cannot predict irom data on small arms what type of

chromium plating will be best in cannon, or what degree of improvement will be obtained. It was believed that the erosion characteristics of 40 mm barrels would be similar to those of larger cannon.

Furthermore, it is practicable to plate 40 mm barrels in moderate

experimental quantities. Another factor that was considered in choosing this caliber was that the cost of amimunition for test-firing is moderate in comparison with that for larger cannon.

The work was divided into three distinct phases, which were

carried out in succession. These were, respectively, (a) determination of pre -plating procedures that yield maximum adhesion;

(b) determination of optimum thickness of plate; and (c) evaluation

of different types of plate. The results of each of these phases has

been described in detail in separate reports to the Bureau of Ordnance

(24). The results with 40 mm barrels will be summarized under the

above headings.

7.8.1 Adhesion of chromium

Three basically different preplating cleaning procedures were

tried. These were; (a) scrubbing with a nnixture of pumice and hydrochloric acid (concentrated HCl diluted with 1 volume of water), followed

by thorough swab and flow rinsing; (b) anodic alkali cleaning, followed

by rinsing; and (c) electropolishing, i.e. , transferring the barrel

directly frona the electropolishing to the plating bath, except for a thorough rinse between baths. With each method, the barrels were

anodically etched in the plating bath at 20 amp/ dm , before plating

current was applied. Anodic etch time was an additional variable,

ranging from zero to 10 minutes. For all tests, 0. 005 inch thickness of HC chromium (50 C, 20 amp/dm ) was used. Three unplated control barrels were fired along with the plated barrels.

In all, 18 barrels were used in the adhesion test programi. The

results are summarized in Table 12.

Since adhesion was evaluated by firing perfornaance, conclusions

were based not only on the ultimate life of the barrel, but also on the

condition of the plate, e.g., the presence and extent of blistering,

and the amount of plate removed by erosion. A significant difference

in the rate of fire for different barrels also had to be considered in

judging the results.

- 58 -
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electropolish. (b) The difference between pumice scrubbing and

direct transfer from the electropolish is very slight. The difference is probably not significant, but since the result leaned toward

superiority of direct transfer from the electropolish, this method

was selected as best. Electropolish cleaning also requires less

hand labor and results in more uniform treatment than does hand

scrubbing, (c) Barrels which were not anodically etched were

definitely inferior in firing life to anodically etched barrels. An

etch of 5 minutes duration is satisfactory. Etch times up to 10

minutes may be used, but do not result in significantly better adhesion than results from a 5-nninute etch.

7. 8. 2 Determination of the best thickness of plate

In this phase of the 40 mm program, use was made of the

preceding results. All barrels were treated by the direct polish

to plate method, with a 5-minute anodic etch. Thicknesses of

0.010, 0.015, and 0. 020 inch of HC chromium were used. A thickness of 0. 005 inch was not used, because data for the barrels with

this thickness of plate, obtained in the first phase of the program,

were included in the present thickness connparisons.

Interpretation of the results was connplicated by a unique type

of failure in a zone several inches long, starting 8 to 10 inches

beyond the origin of rifling. The failure consisted of breaking of

chromium from the lands. One theory is that the effect is caused by

a shock-wave phenomenon. When service powder was used rather

than double -base powder, this abnormal type of failure did not occur.

Because of this difficulty the powder charge was later changed from

double base to a combination load consisting of 25 percent 1.1 inch

"master standard" powder and 75 percent double base powder. This

combination gave approximately the same ballistic characteristics

and inhibited the development of the eroded zone beyond the origin

of rifling. The presence of this eroded zone in some of the barrels

resulted in less than normal barrelTife and made it impossible to

evaluate the performance of the various thicknesses in terms of

barrel life. Rate of removal of chromium at the origin of rifling

was therefore chosen as a basis for evaluating the effect of plate

thickness. The following tabulation summarizes the results. More

complete data are shown in Table 13.

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Number of the group (170 rd/group)

Plate during which plate began to chip

thickness from origin of rifling •

0.00 5 inch 2

.010 " 3

.015 " 4

.020 "

1

It is seen that the duration of protection of the origin of rifling

by the chromium plate increased roughly linearly up to 0.015 inch

thickness. With a thickness of 0.02 inch, the land is nearly solid

chromium. The chromiiom, which is weak, breaks off quickly when

xinsupported by a backing of steel.

Two barrels plated with 0.01 inch of HC chromiumi were fired

the same schedule, but with service powder. They had lives of

4900 and 5500 roxinds, respectively. Control results employing the

same powder with unplated barrels are not available.

Based on the above results, a thickness in the range of 0. 010

to 0.012 inch is considered a good compromise between the indicated

'T>est" thickness 0.015 inch, and a thickness that is practicable for

application in production.

7.8.3 Investigation of different types of

plate in 40 mm barrels

The types of plate tried in 40 mm barrels included "low -contraction"

(LiC), "medixim hardness" (MH), and combinations of these. (See Table

1). Combinations tried were both "zonal", which refers to one type of

chromium in the breech end and another type in the muzzle end of the

barrel, and "superposed", which refers to one type of chromium as

an overlay on another type. The performance of standard, or HC,

plate had been determined in the previous phases of the 40 mm program.

Uniform longitudinal distribution of thickness of both LC and MH plates

was obtained by the use of forced solution flow (pump -plating).

The firing tests showed that 0. 006 inch thickness of LC chromiiom

gave about 10 percent longer life than the optimum thickness of HC

chromium. Thicker LC deposits gave superior erosion resistance

at the origin of rifling, but the barrels failed earlier due to plastic

62 -
deformation of the configuration of the bore. Barrels plated with

MH chromiunn, or with either zonal or superposed combinations

had somewhat poorer performance than those plated with the optimum thickness of HC chromium.

An attempt was made to determine the reason for the earlyfailure due to poor accuracy of the barrels plated with thick coatings

of LC chromium (0.01-.02 inch). To this end, a detailed examination

of the condition of the bores, measurements of projectile spin, and

visual examination of the driving band of recovered projectiles were

made. It was concluded that a constriction of the bore that developed

a short distance forward of the origin of rifling caused the projectile

driving band to deform and swage undersize, thus preventing normal

land engagement and resulting in about 50 percent reduction in spin.

The bore constriction resulted mainly from forward flow of the steel

under the plate, and in part from swaging of the plate itself. These

results for the different types of plate are sumnnarized in Table 13,

7.8, 3, 1 Effect of muzzle choke in 40 mm barrels

By tapering the bore of barrels plated with LC and MH chromiunn

to a muzzle diameter two to four thousandths of an inch tinder the nonninal minimunn, a 20 percent improvement in accuracy (size of target

pattern) was obtained,

7.8,4 Test of 40 mm barrels nitrided before chromium plating

Eight barrels were nitrided after electropolishing and before

plating. Six of these were then plated as shown below:

Nitrided (0.015" case) - 0.006" HC Cr, 0.006" LC Cr, 0.012" LC Cr

Nitrided (0.025" case) - 0,012" HC Cr, 0.006" LC Cr, 0.012" LC Cr

All barrels with the thinner nitrided case, and barrels with 0. 006

inch thickness of plate on the thicker nitrided case, performed about

the same as corresponding non-nitrided barrels. The barrel with

0,012 inch thickness of LC chromiunn on the thick nitrided case performed distinctly better (50 to 70 percent) than any other type of plated

40 mm barrel. Since this result with one barrel cannot be considered

conclusive, it would be necessary to confirm it with additional tests.

These have not been nnade to date.

.63 -
7.9 3 inch-50 caliber barrels

As a result of a decision by the Bureau of Ordnance, Department

of the Navy, to adopt heavy chromium plating of 3 inch-50 caliber

barrels for production, a limited experimental prograna with these

barrels was undertaken. Since our experimental plating shop did

not have capacity for 3 inch-50 caliber barrels, the plating was done

in close cooperation with the Washington Naval Gun Factory. The

barrels were test-fired at the Dahlgren Naval Proving Ground. Work

was started in September 1950, and extended through the first quarter

of 1955.

Three thicknesses of HC chromixim, namely 0.005, 0.010, and

0,020 inch, and one thickness of LC chromium were tried. The thickness of the LC plate tapered from 0. 005 inch at the muzzle end of the

barrel to 0. 010 inch at the origin of rifling. The chambers of the

barrels were plated.

In section 5. 5 of this report, the problems imposed as a result

of the taper normally obtained in LC deposits are described. As shown

there, the most practicable method for obtaining an untapered plate

involves pumping the solution through the bore at a high flow -rate.

The pumping method has been used successfully on an experimental

scale for all calibers through 40 mm. For the 3 inch barrels, adequate pump capacity was not available, so another method of plating

was sought. The method selected, which was used and was satisfactory, consisted of electropolishing the bore with a moving cathode,

thus producing a taper which matched the normal taper in the LC plate, so that the final plated bore was straight. The normal taper in the

plate was first determined in a separate plating experiment. The

results of the firing tests are shown in Table 14.

The general conclusions are that 0.01 inch thickness of HC

chromium is about 15 percent better than 0.005 inch, with respect

to rate of loss of chromium at the origin of rifling, accuracy, and

life to VT fuse failure. The limiting factor in the life of these barrels is VT fuse performance. The criterion for end of life is that

at least 30 percent of the roiinds must function normally.

The barrels with 0. 020 inch thickness of HC chromium failed

early in the second group as a result of excessive loss of chromixina

fronn the bore. A plate of this tliickness is relatively unsupported

on the lands by basis steel, and tends to break off because the chromium itself lacks strength. The same result has been obtained with

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plates of this order of thickness in smaller caliber barrels.

The best performance was given by the barrel plated with the

tapered LC chromium plate, which had a life of ten firing groups,

compared with seven for the barrel with 0.01 inch HC chromixim,

and six for the barrel with 0. 005 inch HC chromium.

8. MISCELLANEOUS TESTS OF GUN BARRELS

8. 1 Effect of heat-treatment of chromium-plated barrels

Heat -treatment of chromixim plated cutting tools, dies, etc. , to relieve stress and hydrogen embrittlement is a common practice.

It is therefore natural that the question of the possible value of heattreatment of chromi\im-plated gun barrels should arise. In general,

it is considered that hydrogen embrittlement of chromium plated tools,

etc. , requires elimination through heat-treatment only if the hardness

of the basis steel is greater than Rockwell C-40. Since gvm steel is

not this hard, and since no gun barrel failures had been observed that

were attributable to hydrogen embrittlement, experimental tests of

chromivim -plated and heat-treated gun barrels had not been seriously

considered in the earlier stages of the program. However, due to

the persistence of interest in this question in several quarters, it

was decided early in 1950 to initiate some tests. During July 1950

four caliber . 50 barrels were plated to standard specifications with

HC chromium at NBS and heat-treated at the Naval Gun Factory.

Two were heated to 200 C for eight hours and two to 600 C for six

hours. The tennperature of 200 C was chosen because it is approximately that which is commonly used for relief of hydrogen erribrittlement, and 600 C was chosen because it is close to the upper limit to

which the steel can be heated without changing its properties, yet

high enough to produce appreciable annealing of tiie chromium. The

performance of these barrels is sho^vn in Table 15. Their firing life

was about tw^o -thirds that of unheated barrels, and one of the barrels

heated to 600 C burst during firing. Metallographic examination of

the steel showed normal structure and hardness for all of the barrels.

No explanation for their poor performance was found. About this time

we learned of the work on the same subject carried out at Woolwich

Arsenal (25) which indicated that the adhesion of chromium in 40 mm

barrels was improved by a cycle consisting of:

(a) Heating at 75 C/hour to 400 C

(b) Holding at 400C for 1 hour

(c) Slow cooling to room temperature in the furnace.

66
Barrel

description

TABLE 15

Performance of barrels heat-treated after chromium plating

Total Av. pattern at Round* to Velocity Croffat

roundg 1000" HxV (inch) failure Initial - final (f. p. 6. ) O.R. (inch)

Nitrided, choked

.0025" HC Cr. Heated

8 hr. at 200 C

Type of failure

Caliber . 50 Schedule: five 100 rd. . bursts, 2 minute cooling, complete cooling 500 rds.

556 483 29 12 - 2584 2 to 4 Velocity drop

Tumbling |

Duplicate of above 575 10 X 10 520 2889 - 2744 2 to 3 Tximbling

Same as above but heated 6 hr. at 600 C 6.4 X 7.6 465 2930 - Barrel burst 5th burst

Duplicate of above 568 16 X 14.5 2969 - 2538 Velocity drop

Tumbling

Unheatsd Cr plated control(9) 725 (Average life based on 200 f. p. s. velocity drop)

Caliber 60 Schedule: eight 50 rd. bursts, 1 burst each 2 min. , complete cooling at 600 rdg . Two piece barrel .003" HC Cr on muzzle, .006" HC Cr 440 on breech. Heated in 2 1/2 hrs.

to 460 C for 1 hr.

8 X 12 3503 - 3379 Cr removal

Same as above 440 8 x8 -- 3492 - 3281 2.5 Velocity drop Cr removal

Same as above 439 8. 5x 8 -- 3484 - 3405 2 Cr removal

Placed in furnace at 460 C for 1.5 hr. 904 8.3 X 10.2 539 3474 - 2732 Velocity drop

Same as above 908 10. 2x 11.3 540 3489 - 2688 14 Velocity drop

-Same as above 857 10.1 X 9.3 540 3554 - 3028 1.5 Velocity drop

40 mm

.006" LC Cr heated 1 hr.

at 400 C. 1082

Schedule: three 50 rd. bursts, 1 min. cooUng, complete cooling 170 rds.*

2996 - 2857 3 Av. pattern at 2000"14 X 15 1082 Tumbling

.006" LC control-not heated 857 15 X 13.5 857 3050 - 2942 5 Dispersion of pattern

.006" HC Cr heated 1 hr.

at 400 C 1054 12. 5x 13 1054 3035 - 2887 4 Tumbling

.006" HC Cr control

not heated 1199 13.5 X 15 U99 3057 - 2890 1.5 Oversize bore

.012" HC Cr heated 1 hr.

at 400 C 1538 13. 5 X 12 1538 3046 - 2834 3 Oversize bore

.012" HC control

not heated 1545 11 X 12' 1545 3037 - 2865 1 Oversize bore ^

^Combination powder uaed for these tests (75% double-base, 25% 1. 1" "Master standard").
Two further tests were therefore carried out, one with caliber

. 60 barrels and one with 40 mm barrels. The results of these

tests are also shown in Table 15. The heating cycle used for the

caliber . 60 and 40 mm barrels was essentially the same as that

recommended in the Woolwich report. The higher temperatures

of 460 C used for the caliber . 60 barrels was in line with later

Woolwich recommendations for barrels to be used on rapid-fire

schedules.

In the heated caliber . 60 barrels, rate of removal of plate at

the origin of rifling was somewhat less than from unheated barrels,

but plate was lost slightly faster than normal from the muzzle

regions. Overall performance, was if anything, slightly inferior

to that of unheated barrels.

The conclusion was that the results do not show that heattreating after plating has significant value. The reason for the

variance between this conclusion and the opposite conclusion reached in the early Woolwich reports may lie in the difference in the

testing schedules or in differences in steels. The Woolwich report

did indicate that improvement was greater under single-shot

firing schedules than under rapid-fire schedules.

8. 2 Injection cooling of gun bores

Erosion of gun bores under conditions of rapid firing is primarily a consequence of the high temperature reached by the surface of the bore. If the bore could be kept cool, performance

should be improved. Several devices for this purpose were tested

by other NDRC contractors, but were not successful. Therefore,

one of the authors, working at the Geophysical Laboratory in 1945,

undertook to design an improved model of injection cooler 1^2 6j.

The initial tests appeared promising, so work was continued at

NBS after the termination of the gun barrel program at the Geophysical Laboratory in 1945.

An injection cooler is a device for injecting coolant into the

bore, i. e. , for cooling the bore from the inside. This is the logical place to apply a coolant, since the heat imparted to the bore

can then be removed without traveling through the barrel wall.

Cooling by means of an external water jacket is of course commonly

used for some types of guns, but this method has the disadvantage

that conduction of heat through the wall is slow, and under severe

rapid-fire schedules, the bore surface may still reach an excessively high temperature.

- 68 -
An injection cooling system may be designed to cool the bore

between each round, or during non-firing periods between bursts,

or both. An effective system must employ a coolant with high

heat capacity. Some of the earlier models which utilized a gas

as the coolant are inherently impractical, because the heat

capacity of any gas is relatively low and cannot remove enough

heat, at least during *'between-round"injection. Water absorbs

approximately 850 calories /gram in passing from liquid at a

temperature of 30° to vapor at 600° C, whereas for the same

temperature interval, air will absorb only about 150 and carbon

dioxide about 120 calories /gram. The advantage of water is

apparent.

The major part of the heat absorbed by water is that absorbed

by vaporization. For vaporization to occur within the fraction of a second available between rounds, the water must be inserted into

the bore in an atomized form, that is, as a fine spray. If it is

inserted as a "slug" of liquid, a negligible amount vaporizes and

the excess liquid passes ineffectively through the bore. Further

requirements for a practical injection cooler are: mechanical

simplicity, lightness, non-interference with the normal functioning of the gun, and capability of operating satisfactorily under a range of service conditions, e. g. , at low temperatures and

against high wind pressures.

The design of the cooler is indicated in Figures 19 and 20. It consists of a steel block mounted between the side plates of the

receiver. The block carries a hinged injector nozzle (A). Air

and water are fed to the nozzle through tubes leading from the inputs (D). The nozzle is forced down by the forward motion of the

bolt when the gun mechanism goes into battery. Valves in the

cylinder (B) of the nozzle -hinge automatically stop the flow of air

and water when the nozzle is in this position. After the round is

fired and the cartridge case is extracted, the nozzle, activated

by a spring (C), returns to the injection position and the flow of

water, atomized by the air stream, automatically begins. Injection continues as long as the gun mechanism remains out of

battery.

In the tests described below, the flow of water was about 4 ml/

round. Consumption of air during continuous operation was 25 cu.

ft. per minute (measured at atmospheric pressure). The operating

air pressure required is about 50 lb in. ^. Approximate estimates

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based, first, on the proportion of the energy of the propellant

that heats the barrel, and second, on the heat capacity and

temperature of the bore surface to a depth of about 1/16 inch,

both indicate that about 2 500 calories/ round must be absorbed

to keep the temperature of the bore surface below about SOO^C.

Four ml of water per round, if heated to 600°, would absorb a

about 3400 calories. This rate of consumption of water is therefore of the required order of magnitude.

The results of the firing tests with this injection cooler are

summarized in Figure 21. It is seen that injection cooling produced appreciable improvement in barrel life. However, before

the injection cooler could be adopted, further improvement in

design would be necessary, particularly to prevent leakage of

water from imperfect valve seals into the gun nnechanism. It would also be necessary to evaluate its performance at low

temperatures, with a codant having a low freezing-point, and

against high wind-pressures. These tests were not made.

Some work was done on the application of a similar injection

,

cooler to the caliber . 60 gun, but the mechanical design problems

were not solved.

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8. 3 Tests of barrels coated by the

"Chromizing" process

"Chromizing" is a process whereby a chromium -iron alloy is

formed on the surface of steel by heating it at a high temperature

in contact with chromivim powder or a chromium compound such as

chromic chloride. Frona tinne to time this process has been proposed as a means for producing an erosion resistant bore surface.

Arrangements were therefore made by the Department of the Navy,

Bureau of Ordnance, Section ReS5a, to have three MK-11 20 mm

barrels chromized by the Chromalloy Corporation, New York.

They were test-fired by NBS in cooperation with the Dahlgren Naval

Proving Ground. The results were the subject of a special report (27).

The barrels used for the test were cut off to a length of 28 inches

owing to the size limitations of the chromizing equipment. The performance of the short barrels could not be compared with that of fulllength barrels. Therefore two control barrels 28 inches long were

fired along with the chromized barrels. One was an iinplated steel

barrel, and one was plated with 0.006 inch thickness of HC chromium.

Two disadvantageous effects of chromizing were noted. First,

it causes definite "growth" of the steel. It was necessary to reduce

the outside diameter of the chromized barrels by 0. 004-6 inch by

electropolishing before they could be assembled in the gun mechanisms and it was also necessary to regrind the chamber before the

cartridge case would enter. Second, the temperature used for chromizing anneals the steel, so that reheat -treatment is necessary.

The surface hardness of the chromized layer was about 1400 Knoop,

both before and after firing, and its thickness as measured on a polished

section with a miicroscope was in the range 0.0006 to 0.0010 inch.

The resxilts of the tests are shown in Table 16. The average life

of the chromized barrels was about half that of the chromiiim plated

control barrel, but about 40 percent greater than that of the unplated

steel barrel. This degree of improvement is about what one would

expect from a chromium plate of the same thickness as that of the

chromized layer. A chromized layer several mils thick might give

barrel performance equivalent to that given by electroplated chromium.

This would have to be determined by experiment. It is doubtful whether

a thick chromized coating is practicable from the standpoint of application.

- ,74 -
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b.4 Tests of barrels prepared for plating by "Vapor -Honing"

So-called "Vapor -Honing" is a process for smoothing the surface

of steel by removing machining burrs and rounding off sharp corners.

In this process, a water suspension of a fine abrasive is blown against

the steel surface with a high-pressure jet of air.

It has been pointed out in section 5.2 of this report that electro

polishing has been widely used in gun bore plating to enlarge the bore,

remove burrs, and round off land corners prior to chromium plating.

However, electropolishing does have some disadvantages that have

led to a search for substitute procedures by agencies concerned with

plating of barrels in production quantities. One of the most troublesome difficulties thathas been encountered with electropolishing is

that the segregations or slag streamers that sometimes are present

in the bore surface are preferentially dissolved, leaving a pitted

surface that is difficult to cover completely with chromium. It is,

of course, probable that such a barrel will perform at least as well

as one in which such defects are covered over with a chromium plate.

Nevertheless, the barrel with the visible defects has the appearance

of being inferior. Other objections that have been raised against

electropolishing are that it is difficult to control the thickness of

steel remioved, the process is messy, the equipment costs are too

high, or the process is too slow. Any process may have both advantages

and disadvantages which must be weighed in deciding whether to use it,

or some competing process. We believe that these disadvantages in

the electropolishing process have been overemphasized, and that its

practicability has been proved by its extensive successful use. On

the other hand, the convenience of vapor-honing as a production operation is recognized.

Owing to its convenience as a production process, vapor -honing

of bores that had been made oversize by machining was adopted as

a method of surjface preparation in some production plants. The

question arose as to whether barrels prepared by the two methods

were equally good in firing performance. To answer this question

controlled tests were planned and carried out.

The tests included 20 mm, 40 mm, and 3 inch - 50 caliber

barrels. Vapor -honing and part of the plating was done by the

Gerrity-Michigan Corporation, Adrian, Michigan.

- 76 -
The Naval Gun Factory was responsible for the plating and

testing of the 3 inch - 50 caliber barrels. The 20 mm barrels

were prepared by NBS, but tested by Aberdeen Proving Gro\ind.

The tests of the 40 mm barrels were carried out entirely under

the responsibility of NBS and will be described first. They are

summarized in Table 17, which is an abstract of the more complete data reported in an NBS quarterly report (ZH).

It is seen from the table that differences in performance,

with respect to overall barrel life, were within the limits of

experimental variation.

The slightly better accuracy of the control barrel, which was

prepared for plating by electropolishing, appeared to be real and

was probably related to the fact that in this barrel, firing caused

less chromium to be removed at the origin of rifling and along

land comers than was removed in the vapor -honed barrels.

The data available for the 3 inch - 50 caliber barrels are

based on the appearance of the barrels after a few rounds of prooffiring. At this stage there was no significant difference between

the vapor -honed and the electropolished barrels.

The results of the tests of the 20 mm barrels have been reported

by Aberdeen Proving Grovmd (29). Their report states that firing

life of the electropolished barrels was about 35 percent greater than

that of the vapor -honed barrels on schedules of 40/30/600 and

lOO/min/600. * On a firing schedule of 250/cc** the life of both

types of barrels was about the same.

*40/30/600 represents 40 round bursts at 30 seconds intervals

with complete cooling after 600 rounds. lOO/min/600 represents

lOU roiind bursts at 1 minute intervals with complete cooling at

600 rounds.

**250 roxind bursts witii complete cooling between bursts.

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The Aberdeen test also included barrels Ihat had been overbroached 0.0055 inch on radius, and electropolished 0.0005 inch

on radius prior to plating. These were slightly inferior to the

vapor -honed barrels. The conclusion stated in the Aberdeen report

is: "It is concluded that tubes manufactured using the electropolish

method (full depth polish) are superior to those manufactured using

preplating methods of overbroaching with slight electropolish and

overbroaching with vapor -honing. "

To sum up, the evidence indicates that electropolishing does

resvilt in better barrel performance than vapor-honing, although

the difference is not large.

8. 5 Tests of barrels plated with "Crack-Free" chromiuxn

"Crack-free" chromixim is a proprietary* chromium plate

which, as the nanie implies, is free of the cracks characteristic

of HC chromium. Its physical properties are probably similar to

those of LiC chromium.

Four 20 mm MK-11 barrels were electropolished by NBS and

plated by United Chromiuxn, Inc. Results of the testing of these

barrels has been reported in detail (30). The results were inconclusive as a consequence of the fact that the plate was extremely

rough. Even though the plates were smoothed as much as possible

by lapping, the residual roughness caused frequent schedule interruptions due to failure of cartridge cases to extract. This also

caused the rate of fire to be low^ The average firing life of the

crack-free barrels on a schedule of 12 x 5O2**, based on a velocity

drop of 200 ft/sec. , was 1766 rounds. This compared ^vith 1088

roxuids for a control barrel plated with HC chromium. It is not

possible to decide whether the apparently better performance of

the crack -free plate is due entirely to the stoppages and low rate

of fire, or whether it really is better than standard chromium.

A conclusion must depend on further tests of crack -free plates

that are free of the surface roughness described above.

United Chromium, Inc. , New York, (a Division of Metal & Thermit

Corporation.

)

**Twelve 50 round bursts at 2 minute intervals, followed by comiplete

cooling.

- 79 -
8.6 Bore coatings for combined corrosion and erosion

protection of barrels for submarine service

Coatings of HC chromium in the range of thickness used in

40 mm barrels, namely 0.005 to 0.010 inch, do afford some corrosion protection. However, other coating systems, that are free

of the crack -type porosity of HC chromium, would be expected to

afford better resistance to corrosion, which is important in barrels

for submarine service.

At the request of the Bureau of Ordnance, ReS5a, a study of

the combined corrosion and erosion properties of other coating

systems was undertaken. The program was divided into two parts.

First, an experimental evaluation of coatings on steel panels, subjected to corrosion by aerated synthetic sea water, and second,

firing tests of 40 mm barrels plated with coatings selected on the

basis of the results of the tests of panels. The barrels were tested

on a schediile that combined alternate firing and immersion in

synthetic sea -water. The resvilts have been described in detail in

earlier NBS reports (31).

It was decided initially to include in the tests, coatings of chromium (both HC and LC), nickel, and cobalt, in various combinations

and thicknesses. The resiilts of the tests of the plated steel panels

are summarized briefly as follows:

(a) Nickel, or combinations of nickel with chromium, were

in general superior to corresponding cobalt coatings.

This was due in part to the fact that we were unable to

consistently obtain cobalt coatings that did not develop

stress-cracks.

(b) A given thickness of LC chromium was markedly superior

to the same thickness of HC chromiiimi.

(c) Combination plates of thin nickel-thin chromiiim (0. 0005 Ni0.001 Cr) were poorest of the combination plates, and corrosion resistance improved with increase in thickness of

either the nickel or the chromitun.

(d) There was no significant difference in corrosion performance

of the following 'Taest" coatings: (1) 0.005 inch Ni; (2) 0.005

inch L.C Cr; (3) O.0005 inch Ni plus 0.005 inch HC Cr;

(4) 0.001 inch Ni plus 0.005 inch HC Cr; (5) 0.002 inch Ni

plus 0. 001 inch HC Cr; (6) 0. 002 inch Ni plus 0. 005 inch HC

Cr.

80 -
No combinations of LC chromivma over nickel were included because

of the difficvilties involved in obtaining good adhesion of LC chromium

to nickel. The duration of the sea-water immersion tests was 120 days.

Because of the high cost of firing tests, it was decided to select

only two of the most promising coating systems for application to

40 mm barrels. Coating (d-2) above (0.005 inch LC chromium,) was

chosen in preference to 0. 005 inch nickel because of the known better

erosion resistance of the former. Fronci the above group of four 'Taest"

combination plates, (d-3 to d-6) the thickest, namely 0.002 inch nickel

plus 0.005 inch HC chromium (d-6) was chosen. This selection was

based on the fact that the duration of the immersion tests of the panels

was too short for perforation of the thinner nickel layers to occur.

However, in long-term submarine servicei perforation of the nickel

might occur, and therefore a longer life should be expected from the

thicker coating. The combination with 0.005 inch chromium was

chosen because this thickness is in the range previously found to be

satisfactory from the standpoint of erosion resistance.

The description of the barrels and the results of the firing te'sts

are summarized in Table 18. The test cycle consisted of the following steps:

(a) Fire one 50 -round burst.

(b) Cool, inspect, and submerge for six days in a vertical

position in a solution of synthetic sea -water at room

temperature.

(c) Remove from the salt solution, rinse, dry, and inspect.

(d) Fire another 50 round burst, etc.

This cycle was continued initially for twelve weeks. After an interruption of ten weeks, during which time the barrels were stored as

fired, firing of one barrel plated with LC chromium and one unplated

control barrel was resumed, and continued for an additional 38 weeks.

The LC chromium plate, 0.006 inch thick, gave by far the best

overall protection to the barrels. The combination plate of nickel

and chromixim had superior corrosion resistance, but was lost fromi

the region of the origin of rifling in the early stages of the firing

period. This exposed the basis steel to erosion and corrosion.

Poor adhesion of the nickel to the steel was responsible for this

failure. The nickel was applied by a competent commercial plating

firm (Chromiiun Corporation of America) experienced in nickel plating

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of tube bores. The sulfuric acid anodic etch procedure was used to

obtain maximum adhesion of the nickel. Before the barrels were

chromiiun plated, a ring was cut from the muzzle end of each nickel

plated barrel and the adhesion was tested by bending and chiseling

tests. It appeared to be excellent. The fact that nickel was nevertheless removed from the bore during firing indicates that there is

little chance for this type of coating to be applied successfully.

The barrels plated with LC chromiiim showed some corrosion

products on the bore after firing and immersion, due to rusting

through cracks and tiny areas of plate failure. The amount of

rusting of this type was too small to affect firing perfornaance.

Erosion was negligible.

In conclusion, it may be stated that a thick plate of LC chromiium was the best tried, and does afford marked protection against

combined erosion and sea-water corrosion.

8. 7 Tests of chromium applied by the Hausner Process

The Hausner process of chromium plating consists of plating

from a chromic acid bath with a high-frequency alternating current

added to the normal direct current. This process, which was promoted

in Germany following the war, became the subject of investigations by

both German and British technical groups. The findings of these investigators have been described in a Navy report (32) and in separate

publications ( 3 3 , 34)

.

Promoters of the process claimed the following improvements

over conventional chronaium plating: higher current efficiency,

improved throwing power, less porosity of the deposits, harder

deposits, and better adhesion of the chromium to the basis metal.

The investigations of the process referred to above did not substantiate any of these claims except the one concerning throwing power.

Data on throwing power were conflicting, but there was evidence

that with respect to throwing power the process had some merit.

In the NBS gtin barrel program, we have taken part in two tests

of barrels plated by this process. The first was sponsored by Army

Ordnance, ORDTS. It was carried out on November 19, 1953, at

- ^3-
Aberdeen Proving Ground and consisted of the test firing of one

caliber . 50 aircraft barrel plated by the Hausner process,* and

two standard, full-length, taper -plated barrels prepared by

Springfield Armory. The nominal thickness of the chromium in

the Hausner barrel was 0. 001 inch and in the Springfield barrels

was 0.002 inch. They were fired on a schedule consisting of continuous 400 roxind bursts with complete cooling between bursts.

The Hausner barrel, though fired a fiill 400 round burst, failed

by 100 percent keyholing before the end of the burst and gave innmediate keyholing on attempting to fire a second burst. One

Springfield barrel was fired 400 rounds (1 burst) with no failure

and was stopped at this point in order to compare its condition with

that of the Hausner barrel. The second Springfield barrel was fired

two 400 round bursts, at which point it was at, or close to, its endof-life.

The firing -life of the Hausner barrel was therefore one -third

to one -half that of the standard plated barrel. This is about what

would be expected of a barrel plated with a thickness of 0. 001 inch

of standard plate.

The second test was sponsored by the Navy Bureau of Ordnance,

Section ReW4a. Three MK-U, 20 mm barrels which had previously

been electropolished by us were plated with 0.002 to 0.003 inch of

chromium by the Hausner process. ** They were fired at the Dahlgren

Naval Proving Groxind during January-March 1956. A full report of

the res\ilts is given in our quarterly report for this period (35).

Control barrels with standard HC chromium, 0.006 inch thick, had

an average life 23 percent greater than that of the Hausner barrels.

Again, the performance of the Hausner plate was about the same as

would be expected of standard chromium of the same thickness.

*The plating was done by the Triumiph Manufacturing Co. , Chicago,

HI.

**The plating was done by the Neotronic Corporation, Chicago, 111.

- 84 -
Neither test indicated that chromixim deposited by the Hausner

process was superior to standard chromiTom with respect to performance in gun barrels. Conversely, the tests did not indicate

that it is inferior, when thickness is considered.

8.8 Experimental rifling designs

The lands in a gun barrel are subjected to severe stresses,

especially at the origin run-up. As has been already stated in

section 3, the physical properties of chromium are not all that is

desired with respect to ability to withstand these stresses. Consequently failure of the chromixim plate usually starts on land corners on the run-up or near the origin of rifling. If the stresses on

the plate could be reduced in magnitude, performance should be improved. Modifications of the bore that have already been described

that were made for the purpose of minimizing this weakness of chromium are (a) a smooth, unrifled bore, and (b) a long "land run-up".

Another approach is to redesign the lands to minimize the forces

that act on them, or to redistribute the forces acting on them, so

that a local point, such as the corner of the driving side of the lands,

does not receive the major part of the stress.

It was believed an empirical approach to this problenn, namely

the trial of a number of land designs, would be preferable to attempts

to design an optimum form of land by a theoretical approach.

The six designs shown in Figure 22 were selected, and duplicate

barrels were made with each design, by Springfield Armory. M-39,

20 mm barrels were used. They were plated at NBS with 0.006 inch

thickness of HC chromium, and test-fired at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

The results are summarized in an NBS quarterly report (35). Evaluation of the results was very difficult because of frequent schedule

interruptions due to break-down of guns, and because of failure of the

breech face by indentation or erosion prior to failure of the bore.

The results are summarized in Table 19. Four of the special riflings

performed appreciably better than standard rifling. Whether the differences are real cannot be decided because of the firing difficulties

cited. Bands engraved by the sector and modified sector lands

(Figure 2 3) showed less slippage and more uniform engraving during

the early life of the barrels than did those engraved by any of the

other types of lands. Bands engraved by standard lands (control barrels) showed some slippage and shearing even when the barrels were new.

These results have sufficient promise to warrant further trials in other

types of barrels.

85 -
DESCRIPTION CROSS SECTION

SPACED RATCHET

12 LANDS PER BARREL

MACRO LANDS

9 LANDS PER BARREL

SPACED RATCHET

MtNOR LANDS

24 LANDS PER BARREL

MINOR LANDS

IS LANDS PER BARREL

'/^

LAND HEIGHT .016

LAND WIDTH .090

/

LAND HEIGHT .016

LAND WIDTH .090

/ y/z^^^^^^

LAND HEIGHT .0085

LAND WIDTH .060

v^y^'

LAND HEIGHT ,0085

LAND WIDTH .040

SECTOR LANDS

12 LANDS PER BARREL

MODIFIED SECTOR LANDS

12 LANDS PER BARREL

CONTROL BARREL

9 STANDARD LANDS PER

BARREL

/ / /

LAND HEIGHT .Qie

LAND WIDTH .060

LAND HEIGHT .016

LAND WIDTH .080

V

LAND HEIGHT

LAND WIDTH

/

y^

.015

.058

Figure 22. Land designs used in tests of experimental riflings

in 20 mm M39 barrels.
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9. OPERATING PROCEDURES

A general discussion of operating procedures has already been

given in section 5. Section 9 is therefore limitsd to a discussion

of some special procedures and a description of recent efforts to

plate and electropolish barrels at high rates. These experiments

have been restricted to 20 mm barrels.

9. 1 High-speed plating

At the beginning of the work with 20 mm barrels, HC chromium

was applied at 50 C and 20 amp/ dm • Under these conditions, 10 to

12 hours are required to deposit 0. 005 to 0. 006 inch thickness. This

is an excessively long time for production operations, and therefore

work was done to define conditions that would permit application of

the plate in a shorter time. Table 20 shows the results obtained

under several sets of conditions,

A few experiments with anodes of higher resistance, namely

1/4 inch diameter tool steel or stainless steel (coated with 0.01 inch

of lead-tin alloy), were also carried out, but are omitted from Table

20 because the results indicated that the higher resistance had no

advantage. Since the plate in some of the runs under conditions

yielding 0.006 inch thickness per hour (No. 6 in Table 20) tended

to be nodular at land corners, several experinaents were carried

out to define the conditions more closely. It was foiind that the range

of suitable conditions is quite narrow. Thus, a drop in temperature

of 3 degrees (No. 7), or an increase in current of 50 amperes (to a

total of 1050 amperes) caused formation of nodules. It was also

found that the tendency for nodules to form at the high plating rates

was less if the concentration of the plating bath is somewhat higher

than the usual value of 250 g of Cr03/liter. Therefore, as noted in

Table 20, a concentration of 300 g of Cr03/liter was used for most

of these experiments.

9. 1. 1 Firing tests of barrels plated,at a high rate

Five barrels plated at a rate of 0. 006 inch per hour (essentially

the conditions of No. 6, Table 20) were test-fired at the Dahlgren

Naval Proving Ground. Table 21 shows a summary of the results

with the performance of a standard HC plate for comparison.

89 -
The performance of the high-speed plate was inferior to that

of standard HC plate. Three of the barrels failed by tumbling of

projectiles before a velocity drop of 200 ft/ sec. was reached.

This was the result of swaging of the lands. In this respect the

plate in these barrels was similar to "medium hardness" plate

(Table 1). The hardness of a specimen of high-speed plate was

measured and found to be about 1100 V. P. N. , which is somewhat

higher than that of HC plate produced under customary conditions

(Table 1). The behavior of the high-speed plate is therefore

anomalous. It is possible that it would perform better on a nitrided base.

The work on high-speed plating has shown that it is possible

to plate barrels at rates significantly higher than 0.0005 to 0.001

inch per hour. Intermediate plating rates, e.g. , 0.003 inch/hr

appear to be practicable and might lead to production economies.

Barrels have been plated successfully at rates as high as 0.006

inch/hr. Rates this high do not appear to be practicable at the

present stage of development because of the critical control required and because of the slightly inferior properties of the plate.

A decision as to whether a plant should be designed for the

usual plating rates or for high plating rates would depend on a careful analysis of a number of factors, some of which are indicated as follows:

In favor of high plating rates: (a) reduced plating time and

the consequent need for less tank capacity; (b) higher

cathode current efficiency.

Against high plating rates: (a) operating conditions more

critical, e.g., control of temperature, current density,

surface smoothness, fixture accuracy, etc.; (b) higher

investment in power facilities, e.g. , 12 volts, higher

current capacity rectifiers, higher investment in bus

bars, etc.

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9. 2 Application of LC chromium to 20 mm barrels

without forced solution flow

It is possible to apply LC chromium to 20 mm barrels without

forced solution flow by using a resistance anode. A 1/4-inch diameter

steel anode with 0.010 to 0.015 inch thickness of lead -tin alloy plate

yields an LC deposit under conditions of 85 C and a total current of

680 to 700 amperes that is about 20 percent thicker at the lower end

of the barrel than at the upper end. This results in an acceptable

choke if the muzzle end is plated downward. A larger taper can be

produced by increasing the current density. It is especially important

when applying LC chromium that the anode be straight and accurately

centered, since the eccentricity of the plate is even greater for a given anode eccentricity than with HC chromium (see Figure 12).

9. 3 High-speed electropolishing

Under the usual conditions for electropolishing, namely 40 to

45 C and 27 amp/dm^ 1. 5 to 2 hours is required to remove 0.005

to 0.006 inch of steel. Shortening of this time would be advantageous

in production. The results of a few experiments are shown in Table

22 and in Figure 5.

While more work will be required to define suitable conditions

definitely, it appears that electropolishing can be readily done at

twice the usual rate.

9.4 Gas -port plating

A sketch showing the construction and assembly of a fixture for

plating the gas-port of a 20 mm barrel is shown in Figure 24. The gasport anode is an "intermediate" anode. Current for plating the gasport is adjusted by varying the distance between the main anode and

the end of the gas -port anode. No outside connection to the latter is

necessary. The fixture is centered by removing the anode height

adjustment screw and sighting through the hole in the fixture, or by

inserting a pin of correct diameter through the hole in the fixture into

the gas-port. The point at which the gas-port anode just touches the

bore anode as the guide is screwed into place is determined by testing

for circuit continuity. The guide is then unscrewed the distance necessary

to adjust the plating current in the orifice to the proper value. Usually

the correct current density is obtained on the gas-port wall if contact

between the two anodes is barely broken. The gas-ports of all barrels

prepared for testing by NBS, unless they have nnolybdenum inserts,

are plated with this fixture.

- 93
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10. FUTURE WORK

One might expect that research on gun barrel plating as extensive as has been described in this report should make it

possible to predict specifications for any new model of barrel

that would give, if not the best possible performance, something

fairly close to the best. In spite of the fact that the data that

have been accumulated permit an approach to this goal, areas

remain in which there is still possibility for improvement.

Some of these will be indicated very briefly.

Much testing has been done with isolated variations, which

is necessary if the variation is to be evaluated. With some types

of barrels there has been no previous opportunity to combine all of

the favorable variations in one barrel. This is now being done in

40 mm barrels. More work is needed to define an optimum land

contour for all calibers. High-altitude conditions raise questions

concerning low temperatures; for example, does the stress resulting from a muzzle choke become an embrittlement hazard to the

barrel or the projectile at minus 70 C? Preliminary work on this

question indicates a negative answer. Designers might well consider further questions concerning clearance between the bore and

the projectile, and the possibility of improving driving band design,

to eliminate balloting. Improvements here would add to the life of

plated barrels.

In the field of plating procedures and techniques, it is still

possible to improve plating fixtures. Deposition of chromium at

very high rates may have potential production value, but still needs

development before it is practicable. Significant savings could be

made in the cost of electropolishing and in the cost of disposal of

spent electropolish solutions if a simple method were developed for

removing dissolved metals, especially iron.

Finally, in the field of testing, local measurement of thickness

of chromium in the bore, non -destructively, would eliminate acceptance of production barrels in which the plate is eccentric. This is

believed to be a common cause of large variations in life that are

too frequently found in plated barrels. A gage for this purpose is

under development. A non-destructive method for measuring adhesion of the plate in barrels plated in production would have much

value. Test-firing procedures are in need of improvement. The

suggestion has been made that barrels be pre -heated to a temperature approximiating that reached in burst fire before test-firingr-

- 96-
The firing cycle could then be shortened with resultant saving

of ammunition (estimated as high as 75 percent). Furthermore,

schedule interruptions would not vitiate test results, because the

barrel would remain hot. A few preliminary experiments have

been made with electrical pre -heating of the barrel.

New models of guns and barrels are continually being developed. As indicated above, accumulated data permit a logical guess

as to specifications for chromium plating these new types of

barrels. Nevertheless, test-firing of barrels plated with variations from the initially selected specifications will always be

desirable.

11. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The contributions of the following persons to this program is

acknowledged:

Dr. William Blum, Dr. Abner Brenner, Mr. Wm. H. Metzger, Jr.

Mr Arthur Fridinger, Mr. Robert Seegmiller, and others of the NBS

staff who were engaged on this project.

Acknowledgment is also made to the following organizations for

technical cooperation and financial support:

Department of the Navy, Bureau of Ordnance;

Department of the Army, Office of the Chief of Ordnance,

and Springfield Armory,

Other cooperating organizations were the Naval Proving Ground,

Dahlgren, Virginia, Aberdeen Proving Ground, the Washington

Naval Gun Factory, and the Geophysical Laboratory. We regret

that it is not practicable to list the names of all of the personnel

of these organizations who have contributed to the program.

• 7 -
REFERENCES

(1) W. W. de Sveshnikoff and H. E. Haring

Army Ordnance 5^, 503 (1924).

(2) J. Q. McDonald and W. M. Scott, Brit. Pat. 299,298,

Oct. 22, 1927.

(3) A. Willink, Frankford Arsenal Engineering Report, July 28, 1931

(4) Fabrique Nationale D'Armes de Guerre, Belgium Pat. 361,579,

July 31, 1929.

(5) J. M. Olin and A. G. Schuricht (Western Cartridge Co.

)

U. S. Pat. 1,886,218, Nov. 1, 1933.

(6) T. K. Vincent, Report No. 87, BRL-APG

Aberdeen Proving Gro\ind, Nov. 3, 1937.

(7) Symposium on Chromiumi Plating, Washington, D. C.

May 14, 1943, Div. 1, NDRC, OSRD 6485, Report No. A-414.

(8) Investigation of Erosion in Caliber . 50 M2AC-BMG Barrels

Partial Tech, Report on SA-W0311, Engineering Dept. , Experimental Div. , Springfield Armory, Nov. 12, 1943;

March 1, 1944; and June 6, 1944.

(9) "Hypervelocity Guns and the Control of Gun Erosion"

S\unniary Tech. Report of NDRC, Div. I, Vol. I, Washington, D. C. , 1946 Chapters 20, 23, 24, 25, 31, and 32.

(1G> See Ref. (9) Chapters 16 to 21.

(11) S. Senderoff and A. Brenner, J. Electrochem. Soc. 101, 16(1954).

(12) A. Brenner, Polly Burkhead, and C. Jennings

Journal Res. National Bureau of Standards 40_, 31 (1948).

(13) A. Brenner, Polly Burkhead, and Emma Seegmiller

Journal Res. National Bureau of Standards 39, 351 (1947).

(14) C. L. Faust, U. S. Pat. 2,334,699, Nov. 23, 1943.

(15) C. Williams and R. A. F. Hammond, Trans. Inst, of Met. Finishing

(London), 3J_, 124(1954).

(16) A. H. DuRose and D. M. Hutchinson, Plating 40, 470, 630(1953).

(17) V. A. Lamb and E. F. Osborn, U. S. Pat. 2,687,591, Aug. 31, 1954.

(18) Firing Trials with 0. 5 inch Browning M/G Barrels with Chroniium

Plated Bores. ARD Met. Report 206/44 (WA-2926-7H) Sept. 1944.

(19) R. Seegmiller and V. A. Lamb, Proc. Am. Electroplaters' Soc.

1948, 125.

(20) R. F. Ledford and L. O. Gilbert, Plating 4^, 1151 (1955).

- 98-
Ministry of Supply, Armament Res. Establishment, Metallurgy

Branch, Woolwich Arsenal, Kent, England, Report No. MR 7614/72,

1953 (Confidential).

V. A. Lamb and J. P. Young, NBS Report No. 5A106, Nov. 30, 1951.

J. P. Young and W. H. Metzger, Jr. , NBS Report No. 5B153,

Jan. 1, 1956.

a. V. A. Lamb, Final Report on 1st Phase of Program on

Chromium Plated Barrels, on Work Performed to Find

Methods for Obtaining Maximvim Adhesion of the Deposit.

Aug. 26, 1949.

b. V. A. Lamb, Report II, Chromium Plated Barrels,

Plating and Firing of Thickness Group, March 22, 1951.

c. J. P. Young, Report III, 40 mm M-1 Chromium Plated

Barrels, Investigations of Various Types of Chromiiun

Plate for the Improvement of Gion Barrel Performance

and Life, NBS Report No. 3B101, Aug. 1, 1954.

ARD Metallurgical Report No. 5/50, Woolwich, England

July 1950.

John P. Young, U. S. Pat. 2,764,914, Oct. 2, 1956.

V. A. Lamb and J. P. Young, NBS Report No. 3297, May 13, 1954.

V. A. Lamb and J. P. Young, NBS Report No. 5B136, Jan. 1, 1954.

Erosion Tests of Bore Pre -plating Preparations, 88th Report on

Proj. No. TS 3-3014, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Dev. and Proof

Services, Dec. 1, 1954.

V. A. La*nb and J. P. Young, NBS Report No. 5B151, Oct. 1, 1955.

a. V. A. Lamb, NBS Report No. 3099 (3988) Feb, 8, 1954.

b. V. A. Lamb and J. P. Young, NBS Report No. 5B151, Oct. 1, 1955.

(32) Dept. of the Navy, Bureau of Ordnance, Technical Library.

Library No. ONI-F, OANAR, Mp-B.

(33) R. Bilfinger, Arkiv. :^ur Metalkunde, No. 4, 131, Nov. (1948).

(34) F. Muller, W. Eilender, and K. M. Wagner, ibid,, April, 135(1949).

(35) J. P. Yoiing and W. H. Metzger, Jr., NBS Report No. 5B157,

April 1, 1956.

- 99 -

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Frederick H. Mueller, Secretary NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

A. V. Astin, Director THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

The scope of activities of the National Bureau of Standards at its major laboratories in Washington, D.C., and

Boulder, Colorado, is suggested in the following listing of the divisions and sections engaged in technical work.

In general, each section carries out specialized research, development, and engineering in the field indicated byits title. A brief description of the activities, and of the resultant publications, appears on the inside of the front

cover. WASHINGTON, D.C.

Electricity and Electronics. Resistance and Reactance. Electron Devices. Electrical Instruments. Magnetic Measurements. Dielectrics. Engineering Electronics. Electronic Instrumentation. Electrochemistry.

Optics and Metrology. Photometry and Colorimetry. Hiotographic Technology. Length. Engineering

Metrology.

Heat. Temperature Physics. Thermodynamics. Cryogenic Physics. Rbeology. Molecular Kinetics. Free

Radicals Research. Atomic and Radiation Physics. Spectroscopy. Radiometry. Mass Spectrometry. Solid State Physics. Electron Physics. Atomic Physics. Neutron Physics. Radiation Theory. Radioactivity. X-rays. High

Energy Radiation. Nucleonic Instrumentation. Radiological Equipment.

Chemistry. Organic Coatings. Surface Chemistry. Organic Chemistry. Analytical Chemistry. Inorganic

Chemistry. Electrodeposition. Molecular Structure and Properties of Cases. Physical Chemistry. Thermochemistry. Spectrochemistry. Pure Substances. Mechanics. Sound. Mechanical Instruments. Fluid Mechanics. Engineering Mechanics. Mass and Scale. Capacity, Density, and Fluid Meters. Combustion Controls. Organic and Fibrous Materials. Rubber. Textiles. Paper. Leather. Testing and Specifications. Poly- mer Structure. Plastics. Dental Research.

Metallurgy. Thermal Metallurgy. Chemical Metallurgy. Mechanical Metallurgy. Corrosion. Metal

Physics.

Mineral Products. Engineering Ceramics. Glass. Refractories. Enameled Metals. Constitution and Microstructure.

Building Technology. Structural Engineering. Fire Protection. Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration. Floor, Roof, and Wall Coverings. Codes and Safety Standards. Heat Transfer. Concreting Materials.

Applied Mathematics. Numerical Analysis. Computation. Statistical Engineering. Mathematical Physics.

Data Processing Systems. SEAC Engineering Group. Components and Techniques. Digital Circuitry.

Digital Systems. Analog Systems. Application Engineering.

• Office of Basic Instrumentation. • Office of Weights and Measures. BOULDER, COLORADO

Cryogenic Engineering. Cryogenic Equipment. Cryogenic Processes. Properties of Materials. Gas Liquefaction. Radio Propagation Physics. Upper Atmosphere Research. Ionospheric Research. Regular Propagation

Services. Sun-Earth Relationships. YHF Research. Radio Warning Services. Airglow and Aurora. Radio

Astronomy and Arctic Propagation.

Radio Propagation Engineering. Data Reduction Instrumentation. Modulation Research. Radio Noise. Tropospheric Measurements. Tropospheric Analysis. Propagation Obstacles Engineering. Radio-Meteorology. Lower Atmosphere Physics.

Radio Standards. High Frequency Electrical Standards. Radio Broadcast Service. High Frequency Impedance Standards. Electronic Calibration Center. Microwave Physics. Microwave Circuit Standards. Radio Communication and Systems. Low Frequency and Very Low Frequency Research. High Fre- quency and Very High Frequency Research. Ultra High Frequency and Super High Frequency Research. Modulation Research. Antenna Research. Navigation Systems. SyileiiM Amafytu. Field Operations.
4

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