Abstract: Bore cleaning is an essential part of gun barrel maintenance. The technical manual for the Abrams tank gun barrel calls for bore cleaning to occur after every firing exercise. Standard practice at a military proving ground, such as Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, is to clean the barrel after every firing program, perhaps 5 to 10 cleanings per barrel per year, 250 total cleanings per year. The degree to which a barrel is considered clean varies. Proving-ground barrels are usually cleaned to higher standards than those in the field. However, proving-ground cleaning is machine-powered (vs. manually done in the field) and is usually, if not always, done in preparation for a detailed bore wear/damage inspection. The proving-ground cleaning process typically involves a motorized cleaning brush (metal) in the presence of a cleaning solution and usually takes three men 60 minutes to bring a bore to wear-inspection standards. This report describes a new solventless bore cleaning technique that uses silicon-carbide-grit impregnated on a nylon bristle brush to clean the bore in roughly 1/3 the time, with half the personnel, using less expendables, at 1/4 the cost. Testing shows that the new cleaning method does not damage the chrome plating nor the metal substrate where chrome is missing as a result of firing-induced damage.
| Limitations: |
 APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE |
| Description: |
Final rept. |
| Pages: |
20 |
| Report Date: |
SEP 2005 |
| Report Number: |
A112144 |
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