Qualification of Ammunition Coatings for Renovating 155-mm M549A1 Projectiles

摘要

Increasingly stringent environmental regulations have forced ammunition manufacturers and maintenance facilities to reconsider their traditional coating processes. The demands on the ammunition coating specifications have changed over the years. The treatments of hazardous emissions and waste generation at all levels of production are very costly, and any reduction in emissions through improved coatings will save money. The current coating system for high explosive ammunition is an alkyd enamel topcoat, which contains high levels of volatile organic compounds applied to a pretreated surface. The need to reduce or eliminate these hazardous substances is dictated by federal and state environmental regulations, controlling the amount and types of solvents and methods for waste disposal, and by changes in the coating process. This regulatory and performance-driven process led to a major consolidation effort by the US Army Research Laboratory Coatings Team and the US Army Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center Munitions Metal Parts to eliminate coatings with hazardous materials and high levels of polluting solvents. Eventually, these improvements will reduce life-cycle costs Experimental stress tests such as corrosion resistance, impact resistance, and adhesion were used to characterize and identify the optimal coatings.