Tungsten-possible parts?

[maw1777]

What parts of a gun would benefit most from the toughest steel?


It has the highest melting temperature of any metal, would this make it impervious to barrel heating effects?

I'm thinking a thin tungsten barrel wrapped in Carbon Fiber like Christensen arms would last almost forever.

[Tzed250]

Tungsten is extremely brittle and has a low resistance to shock.

[GH41]

A tungsten barrel would have to be 1/2 the diameter of a steel barrel of the same weight. GH

[dmaxfireman]

Tungsten is extremely heavy and brittle. Maybe you are thinking titanium. Which in that case would be very cost prohibitive.

[tog]

Plus,
if you strengthen one particular part others become the weakest link. By changing one part to tungsten you would most likely have to rethink the whole system-Sort of like reinventing the wheel. Of course this is just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions.

[JS-Maine]

There are other approaches that could make a barrel last longer, but focusing in on that one desirable characteristic may be detrimental to other equally desirable characteristics while producing a weapon that doesn't function in its designated role.

Tungsten, but more so tungsten carbide, makes for great cutting blades, electrical filaments, non toxic waterfowl shot, wedding rings, etc. It cracks relatively easily and is a super heavy material.

[decodeddiesel]

Given my education in the matter I feel I am in a good position to post a somewhat coherent response.

Firstly, tungsten may have a higher "melting point" than steel, but this one single material property does not make it a superior choice. Elastic modulus, toughness, and tensile strength are the three primary material properties when you consider a ductile material such as steel. Those are the basics, and even here other materials fall flat on their faces when compared to chromoly steel. When we get into specifics that are necessary to making a good, working barrel we really see how poorly other materials stock up.

Tungsten carbide is a NIGHTMARE to machine with traditional machining techniques. You simply cannot cut or turn it the way you can with carbon steel or stainless steel. You either have to grind it (not an option for cutting rifling) or you have to use EDM technology, specifically sink EDM. Given the amount of fixturing and run time a sink EDM would take to produce a barrel I don't imagine you could produce one for less than $15,000 - $20,000 and still make a profit. Chromoly on the other hand is one of the easiest and cleanest steels to machine. It takes threads and rifling very well, and it is easy to produce an outstanding surface finish with minimal effort. This is absolutely critical to having clean and true rifling in a barrel.

Tungsten has a very high density. Even if you could get away with a barrel that is "half the thickness" (which BTW, you couldn't) it would still weigh more than a chromoly barrel.

Mainly however, tungsten carbide is far far too brittle to use as a barrel material. It has shit toughness (the integral or area under the stress strain curve) and while it may have slightly higher ultimate tensile strength, the modulus is way way too high to work correctly with the kinematics of a barrel during firing (think about barrel whip and harmonics).

Finally, tungsten carbide has horrible wear characteristics. Not an issue when you have a tool made from tungsten that you can resharpen or throw out when it reaches the end of it's life, but it's a big deal if you want a barrel that can last more than 50 rounds.

Bottom line is the people who select the materials that go into critical weapon components such as barrels have far far more education, and knowledge about this little area called material science than some yahoo on a gun board. Leave it to the professionals, and accept the fact that chromoly is the best material we currently have for barrels and that's not likely to change anytime soon.

[decodeddiesel]

BTW: I have been going to school for years for Mechanical Engineering and have an advanced degree in the field. I am just now able to truly understand the mechanics behind these materials and be able to speak intelligently about them.


|YOUR LANE| ------------------------------------------->YOU

[maw1777]

BTW: I have been going to school for years for Mechanical Engineering and have an advanced degree in the field. I am just now able to truly understand the mechanics behind these materials and be able to speak intelligently about them.


|YOUR LANE| ------------------------------------------->YOU

You're an arrogant prick. Anyone can easily read and regurgitate books. True intelligence comes from imagination.

[Army Chief]

This one is done.

OP, infraction inbound. Pay attention, as this is the very first infraction that I have ever given as a staff member on this site. That ought to tell you something about your pattern of conduct here of late.

Please tone it down. Read more, post less.

AC