AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ENGINEERING EXAMINATION OF NAVAL GUN FAILURE PATTERNS UTILIZING FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Abstract

Because of their material composition and massive bulk, cannons are ubiquitous in the archaeological record and commonplace throughout the world. Historical developments in metallurgy and material science paralleled progress in artillery design. However, seemingly random catastrophic gun failures continued to plague militaries well into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with sometimes significant repercussions. The purpose of this research is to generate a multidisciplinary study that combines archaeological, historical, and engineering methodologies to answer complex questions concerning cannon failure patterns. Specifically, this research analyzes an attempt to utilize engineering Computer Aided Design (CAD) software to conduct Finite Element Analysis (FEA) on models of 17th century, 18th century, and 19th century naval guns to simulate how they fail. The results of the simulations are then compared to the archaeological data, and the trends are discussed at length. The impact of variables such as age, surface finish/corrosion, material composition, casting techniques, cannon design, and history are quantified to help understand the historical and archaeological record and explain why some guns failed in the way that they did. The objective of this research is to identify a categorization of cannon failure modes to help archaeologists and historians record damaged cannons and extrapolate a gun’s service history and cause of failure with confidence.