High Strength Uranium Tungsten Alloys PDF Download

The ballistic performance of kinetic energy (KE) penetrators at very high impact velocities (>2.0km/s) has attracted increased interest from the terminal ballistics community. As alternatives to chemical energy propulsion- notably electromagnetic guns-begin to offer high velocity and high energy, appropriate penetrator configurations and materials must be examined. High density, high strength, and other material and mechanical properties have made tungsten heavy alloys (WHA) and depleted uranium (DU) alloys the materials of choice for KE penetrators. Terminal ballistic capabilities of both alloys have been evaluated and documented at ordnance velocities up to 1.8 km/s, where DU alloys are the superior terminal ballistic performers. Tungsten alloys have also been evaluated in the very high velocity regime. However, due to the environmental restrictions associated with testing DU penetrators, the high velocity performance of DU has not been previously investigated. In order to fill this void of DU penetrator data, the Ballistic Research Laboratory's Range 9 and Range 14 large caliber test facilities were exploited. Specifically, this investigation has centered on the testing of a 120-mm projectile with a nominally half-scale penetrator core of aspect ratio 20, capable of achieving velocities of 2.4 km/s. This paper reports results of semi-infinite penetration tests performed against thick rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) targets impacted at velocities ranging from 1.7 km/s to 2.4 km/s.