Molecular dynamics simulation of the gun barrel
material erosion by propellant gas
Molecular dynamics involves the numerical solution of the classical equations of
motion (F=ma) for every single atom in material. The result is a very detailed
description of the temporal evolution of the material: we obtain the position, velocity
and force of every atom as a function of time.
Theoretical model
The molecular dynamics method is based on the classical mechanics model. From
the perspective of classical mechanics, the molecular system is a mechanical
system composed of a group of interacting atoms, and the molecular system can be
approximated as a particle mechanical system. According to Newton's second law:
F= ma
The equation of motion for a molecular system can be expressed as:
Fi = mi d2ri/dt2 = miri
In equation ri is the coordinate vector of atom i, and fi is the force vector of atom i.
At the same time, the interaction between atoms is conservative, and the total
energy of the system is always conserved.
At present, the propellant is mainly composed of four elements: carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, and nitrogen (C, H, O, N). The main components of propellant gas are CO,
CO2, H2, H2O, N2, the study of erosion mechanism, Lawton (ref?) pointed out that CO
and H2 in propellant gas are highly erosive to barrel metal, while CO2, H2O, and N2
are much less erosive. Under the high-speed scouring action of the propellant gas, it
is difficult to directly detect the product of the reaction between the propellant gas
and the base metal of the barrel. Therefore, the scanning electron microscope
analysis and product analysis of the eroded barrel material is carried out through the
simulation experiment method
The molecular dynamics method is used to analyze the chemical erosive mechanism
of propellant gas to gun barrel material, and the erosion process is reasonably
simplified. The following assumptions can be made in molecular dynamics method :
(1) Considering that the CO component accounts for the largest proportion of most
propellant gas, the mass percentages of three-base propellant and single-base
propellant are 33.3% and 50.7%. respectively. And CO is more erosive than the
other components of the propellant gas. Therefore,
this article mainly uses CO gas instead of propellant gas for diffusion research;
(2) A large amount of carbon and oxygen can be detected in the erosion sample
material of the gun
barrel. Therefore, the bonding of CO is ignored and simplified as the diffusion of C
and O atoms in the iron-based material.
Figure shows the longitudinal distribution of the propellant gas atomic number at
100ns under the conditions of propellant gas pressure 285MPa and temperature
2000K, 2500K, and 3000K respectively. It can be seen from the figure that the
overall trend of the longitudinal distribution of propellant gas atoms under different
temperature conditions is consistent, and the propellant gas atoms near the barrel
material are the densest. The distribution number of propellant gas atoms near the
barrel material reaches the maximum close to each temperature, while the
distribution number farthest from the barrel material has the minimum value, and the
number at three temperatures also differs the most. Considering that the three
temperature operating systems all have the same number of propellant gas atoms,
the above results show that the higher the temperature, the greater the longitudinal
distribution gradient of propellant gas atoms, that is, the stronger the tendency to
diffuse toward the barrel material.
Figure shows the diffusion results of propellant gas atoms in the surface layer of the
gun barrel material. Figure (a) and figure (b) show the cross-sectional views of the
barrel material with observable diffusion. The diffusion of propellant gas atoms leads
to the structural change of the gun barrel material, and the propellant gas atoms
squeeze in. The diffusion of propellant gas atoms into the lattice structure of the
barrel material is the basis for changes in the chemical composition, surface
strength, brittleness, and crack generation
Figure c) shows the variation of propellant gas atom diffusion depth. With the
increase of time, the diffusion depth of propellant gas atoms continues to increase,
but the amplitude of it is getting smaller and smaller, indicating that the diffusion
ability of propellant gas atoms in the surface of the barrel material decreases with the
increase of the diffusion depth.
Major Guns used by Navies of the World-
OTO Melara 76 mm – The Indian Navy is installing these guns in their surface
warships This is the main gun used by the top naval surface combatants of the
world.
Specifications
Mass Empty: 7.5 tonnes (17,000 lb)
Barrel length 62 caliber: 4,724.4 mm (186.00 in)
Shell 76×636mmR cartridge weight 12.5 kilograms (28 lb)
shell weight 6.3 kilograms (14 lb) propellant weight 2.35 kilograms (5.2 lb)
Caliber 76.2 mm (3.00 in)
Mark 45 5-inch/54-caliber lightweight gun - The 127 mm (5")/54 caliber (Mk 45)
lightweight gun is a U.S. naval artillery gun mount . It was designed and build BAE
systems.
Specifications (Mod 2)
Mass 21,691 kg (47,820.5 lb)
Length 8.992 m (29 ft 6.0 in
Barrel length 6.858 m (22 ft 6.0 in)
Shell 127 x 835mm.R
Conventional: 31.75 kg (70.0 lb)
Barrel is assumed to be thick walled cylindrical shaped. The material is homogenous
and isotropic.
The barrel has two types of stresses
Radial
Tangential
Tangential and Radial Stress Distribution of a thick walled Cylinder
Fatigue life analysis of a cannon barrel
For predicting the life cycle of gun barrel a Method known as Monte carlo method can be used and
many parameters were assumed as random variables.
Monte Carlo simulation is a method for predicting outcomes of uncertain events by
modeling probabilities through random sampling. It's used widely across various
fields for decision-making and risk analysis. It is used for Modelling Uncertainty.It
simulates outcomes by using random variables, reducing the need for exhaustive
brute force calculations.
Execution Steps for Monte Carlo Method Involves setting up a predictive model,
specifying probability distributions, and running simulations to gather representative
samples. More simulations enhance the accuracy by calculating variance and
standard deviation, refining the estimation of potential outcomes.
