Research Progress on Damage Assessment Methods of Gun Barrel Bore

LUO Xi; JING Xiaofei; YANG Jiuzhou; LI li; CHEN Hanbin; ZHAN Qingqing; WU Xia; ZHOU Shaolan; SONG Kaiqiang; CONG Dalong; LI Zhongsheng

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.09.020

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Surface Technology ›› 2026, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (9) : 244-256. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2026.09.020

Equipment Surface Engineering

Research Progress on Damage Assessment Methods of Gun Barrel Bore

LUO Xi¹, JING Xiaofei², YANG Jiuzhou¹, LI li¹, CHEN Hanbin¹, ZHAN Qingqing¹, WU Xia¹, ZHOU Shaolan¹, SONG Kaiqiang¹, CONG Dalong^1,*, LI Zhongsheng^1,*

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Abstract

The efficient and reliable assessment of gun barrel bore damage serves as the foundation for research on barrel damage mechanisms and advancement of life extension technologies under severe thermal-chemical-mechanical coupled operating conditions. As the core component of artillery responsible for imparting initial velocity and firing direction to projectiles, the gun barrel directly dominates critical tactical and technical indicators such as firing accuracy and range. During continuous firing, the gun bore is subject to extreme environments including scouring by high-temperature (up to 3 000 K) and high-pressure propellant gas, as well as friction from high-speed projectile driving bands. These harsh conditions readily induce multiple coupled damage forms, leading to performance degradation and service life attenuation of the gun barrel, which severely restricts the operational efficiency and sustainability of artillery weapons. Consequently, developing efficient and accurate bore damage assessment techniques has become a pivotal research topic in the field of artillery, holding significant engineering application value and military strategic significance for reliable barrel life prediction, performance optimization, and operational effectiveness assurance.
The work aims to conduct a comprehensive overview on the formation mechanisms and quantitative theoretical models of typical damage forms in gun barrel bore, such as ablation, wear, and fatigue cracking. Ablation damage originates from intense thermochemical reactions induced by high-temperature propellant gas, where corrosive gases react with the barrel inner wall to form loose "white layers" (composed of iron oxides and sulfides) that easily detach under subsequent projectile movement and gas scouring. Wear damage, dominated by mechanical effects, is categorized into adhesive wear (micro-welding and shearing of metal protrusions), abrasive wear (scouring by solid particles), and corrosive wear (synergy of chemical corrosion and mechanical erosion) which collectively exacerbate surface roughness and material loss. Fatigue damage stems from cyclic loading during firing, leading to alternating stress/strain that initiates and propagates cracks at weak locations such as micro-defects or stress concentration areas, with significant impacts on surface-strengthened gun barrels (e.g., chrome-plated ones) due to coating spallation.
The current mainstream assessment methods for barrel bore damage are systematically sorted out. The experimental testing method is employed to obtain live fire testing data through size measurement, image detection and physical quantity monitoring, which is the most direct and reliable method for evaluating the bore damage. The evaluation method based on simulation relies on finite element technology to reproduce complex operating conditions, capture the evolution information of bore damage and reveal the damage mechanism. The evaluation method based on intelligent data analysis is used to predict the bore damage and life of gun barrel through small sample data through artificial intelligence algorithms, such as neural networks and support vector machines. Moreover, according to the complex and harsh service environment in gun bore, the challenges faced by the damage evolution in terms of detection accuracy and multi-factor coupling damage effects are pointed out. At the same time, it is proposed that efforts can be made in the future to promote the development of artillery barrel damage assessment technology by developing new barrel damage assessment technologies and deepening the integration of multi physics field coupling simulation and artificial intelligence technology. This research holds significant engineering application value for reliable life prediction and artillery performance improvement.

Key words

gun barrel / damage types / damage quantification models / damage assessment methods / detection technology / simulation and algorithm

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LUO Xi, JING Xiaofei, YANG Jiuzhou, LI li, CHEN Hanbin, ZHAN Qingqing, WU Xia, ZHOU Shaolan, SONG Kaiqiang, CONG Dalong, LI Zhongsheng. Research Progress on Damage Assessment Methods of Gun Barrel Bore[J]. Surface Technology. 2026, 55(9): 244-256

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