A system that can accurately predict the bore surface temperature during firing and cease-fire operation would significantly improve the Naval 5-inch gun crew safety by minimizing the risk of propellant or projectile cook-off during a misfire related gun clearing operation. It addition to Naval gun, this technology would have application to medium and large caliber Army cannons. This technology also has application in situations involving high temperature monitoring in high shock and vibration environments, such as steel production.

The purpose of this project is to design, develop, and test a system capable of measuring or predicting the bore surface temperature for application to the 5-inch/62-caliber (5"/62) EX 36 MOD 0 gun barrel when in service on a ship equipped with the MK 45 gun mount. This information is critical to gun crew personnel for predicting the amount of time that is available for executing safe clearing of propellant and projectiles in the event of a misfire. The proposed design is an innovative, rugged, low cost and low complexity system which we have given the acronym GUTSS for Gun Temperature Sensor System. This design does not require modifications to the gun barrel, which might otherwise shorten its fatigue life. Under this effort a prototype system will be developed and its performance tested under live fire at a Navy range.