Depleted Uranium .50 MG Ammunition

Depleted Uranium is a metal which is composed almost exclusively of U-238, the most common isotope of Uranium, and less than 0. 7% of fissile Uranium isotopes such as U-235 or U-234. It is produced during the enrichment process of nuclear fuel, in which natural uranium samples are refined to increase their U-235 and U-234 content. This process produces uranium metal composed of about 99. 7% U-238  as a waste product.

U-238 is not able to sustain a nuclear fission chain reaction, in which neutrons are released from a uranium atom, strike a nearby atom, and cause it to undergo fission as well. Thus, U-238 has limited use in nuclear power generation or fission weaponry, so it is typically sold to military/defense contractors who use it to manufacture high-density kinetic penetrator cores in ammunition. Uranium is an extremely good armor-penetrating material, as its specific gravity of 19. 1 is much higher than that of Lead at 11. 3 or Steel at 7. 9. Its density is similar to Tungsten at 19. 3 g/mL, another popular penetrator material, and is also very similar to Tungsten in its Brinell hardness. However, the unique metallurgical properties of Uranium make it a superior penetrating material to Tungsten.

Uranium undergoes adiabatic shearing when it strikes an armor plate, meaning the tip of the penetrator will not deform and become dull as with tungsten, but rather sharpen itself by breaking up into superheated shards. Furthermore, Uranium is highly reactive and pyrophoric, meaning it will ignite when exposed to oxygen at high temperatures and form Uranium (IV or VI) oxide. Thus, the shards and dust created by the adiabatic shearing will exit the rear of the armor and immediately ignite into a shower of high-velocity metal sparks.

Research on the use of depleted uranium as kinetic penetrators and armor plating began in the 1970s, and the material was first used in the 1991 Gulf War by the United States. The dust created from the impact is toxic, and exposure to the dust has been studied extensively as a possible health hazard. In addition to the radiological hazard, Uranium dust and Uranium salts are extremely chemically toxic and can cause heavy metal poisoning. Alpha radiation, the main decay mode of U-238, is relatively harmless when outside the body, but when inhaled as dust it is much more potent. Also, the main decay products of U-238 are capable of producing much more dangerous beta and gamma radiation. Depleted uranium was the main suspected cause of the "Gulf War sydrome" that afflicted many veterans of the Gulf War, but studies were never able to produce sufficient evidence in support of this. The material has since been used in several more conflicts around the globe after having been ruled to not violate the Geneva or Hague Conventions on poisonous weaponry.

Mod Details