EXPLOSIVE FORMING OF GUN TUBE SECTIONS.

Abstract : Application of explosive forming techniques to the fabrication of the 120mm Heavy Assault Weapon (H.A.W.) gun tube sections resulted in the satisfactory completion of four (4) out of ten (10) tubes in an experimental evaluation. Tubes were radially expanded from tubular blanks of AISI 4140 to the required dimensions, thus eliminating considerable machining time and material cost. The complete fabrication sequence developed on contract has been tabulated for each tube. Room temperature tensile data and impact data at room temperature and -40F from the minimum and maximum expansion areas are presented for representative tubes. (Author)