Materials Technology Laboratory

{{Image frame|width=200|content= Throughout its long history, Watertown Arsenal maintained several laboratory facilities that conducted mechanical testing as well as research on material development and solid-state physics. The first known instance of a laboratory at Watertown Arsenal was a one-story wooden building built in 1842. This early laboratory did not specialize in scientific experimentation but instead supported Watertown Arsenal's mission as a military supply depot. The machine, named the Emery Testing Machine, was capable of accurately testing 800,000 pounds of tension and one million pounds in compression. In 1954, the Chief of Ordnance moved the Ordnance Materials Research Office (OMRO) to Watertown Arsenal, where it not only administered materials research at other Army laboratories but also conducted in-house research. That same year, the arsenal established a new metals processing laboratory called the General Thomas J. Rodman Laboratory (unrelated to the facility with the same name at Rock Island Arsenal). Named after the former arsenal commander during the Civil War, the Rodman Laboratory focused on improving the quality of Army products while reducing their manufacturing costs, in addition to creating new materials and methods for manufacturing strategic resources. However, the Rodman Laboratory was later absorbed into the Watertown Arsenal Laboratories. With the dissolution of the Ordnance Corps in 1962, the newly established Army Materiel Command combined WAL and OMRO to form the Army Materials Research Agency (AMRA). As a corporate laboratory for the Army, AMRA developed and improved materials for Army weapons and equipment as well as set up materials specifications and standards. In addition to conducting basic and applied research in structural materials, the facility also operated and maintained the arsenal's Horace Hardy Lester Reactor, the Army's first and only research nuclear reactor, in lieu of OMRO. When Watertown Arsenal ceased operations in 1967, AMRA became the Army Materials and Mechanics Research Center (AMMRC) and remained on the site. Following the end of the Vietnam War, the budget squeezes and hiring freezes felt throughout the Army threatened to close AMMRC in 1984 due to the age of its facilities. Instead, AMMRC became the Materials Technology Laboratory (MTL) in 1985. Despite this attempt to rebrand its identity, MTL continued to face the possibility of closure throughout the 1980s. Finally, the decision to establish ARL in 1989 led to a recommendation by the Department of Defense in 1991 to consolidate the Army's corporate laboratories, including MTL, at Adelphi and Aberdeen, Maryland. As a result of the Base Alignment and Closure of 1991, most of MTL was relocated to Aberdeen Proving Ground to become part of the Materials Directorate at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), while MTL's structures element was transferred to the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to form part of ARL's Vehicle Structures Directorate. == Research ==

Much of the scientific activity that took place at Watertown Arsenal was designed to support the installation's role as an ordnance depot and a manufacturing plant. Workers at the arsenal regularly conducted tests and experiments to improve the metallurgical production processes that drove the compound's industrial facilities. Centrifugal casting of guns Watertown Arsenal led the development of centrifugal casting for gun manufacture in the late 1930s. In centrifugal casting, molten steel is poured into a rapidly rotating mold, which continues to rotate until the metal solidifies. This process not only reduced the number of casting defects, but it also significantly decreased the manufacturing time and the amount of raw materials needed to produce a gun barrel. Guns produced using centrifugal casting were also lighter while their strength remained unaffected. Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, Watertown Arsenal initially carried out the majority of the Army's gun tube manufacturing using this technique until contributions from private industry reached acceptable levels in 1942. In 1944, the arsenal installed the world's largest centrifugal casting machine, which produced ultra-heavy artillery tubes using centrifugal casting for the first time. V-notched Charpy impact test In 1914, a Charpy impact testing machine was installed at Watertown Arsenal, making the arsenal the first facility in the United States to own one. Tungsten carbide projectiles Watertown Arsenal was the site of the first experimental testing of tungsten carbide as an armor-piercing projectile during the 1930s. Due to possessing a significantly higher hardness and mass density than steel, tungsten carbide was demonstrated to be a more effective penetrator than standard steel armor-piercing projectiles while being lighter in weight. These tungsten carbide projectiles were later used by the Allied Forces during World War II, where they pierced the frontal armor of German tanks. After the war, Watertown Arsenal developed improved compositions of tungsten carbide as well as plastic discarding carriers for launching the tungsten carbide penetrators. In one comparison test, this new version of the projectile, named the T89E3, could be fired at a velocity of 5000 feet per second compared to the original's velocity of 3200 feet per second. However, the T89E3 was never adopted by the Army due to how the plastic carrier melted in the chamber of a hot gun. Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy Watertown Arsenal led the Army Titanium Program, which investigated titanium alloy development, analysis, and treatment for manufacturing purposes. Working with over 40 different contractors, the arsenal saw the development of several titanium alloy patents. One alloy jointly produced by the Armour Research Foundation and the arsenal in 1951, denominated as Ti-6Al-4V, became one of the most widely used commercial titanium alloys in the industry. Invented by Stanley Abkowitz while he worked at Watertown Arsenal, Ti-6Al-4V was hailed for its high specific strength and its excellent corrosion resistance. Abkowitz then published the first technical paper on the Ti-6Al-4V alloy on June 10, 1954. Watertown Arsenal Laboratories (1953–1962) Nuclear munitions prototyping Beginning in 1958 up to 1990, WAL and its successors provided continuous support to the Program Manager for Nuclear Munitions at Picatinny Arsenal in numerous ways. Researchers at Watertown conducted design analyses of developmental nuclear projectiles and aided the manufacture of prototype components, projectiles, and accessories in order to test both experimental and fielded munitions. This collaboration helped the laboratory gain access to new facilities for processing materials that were critical for developing nuclear munitions like depleted uranium and beryllium. As part of their services, researchers at the laboratory redesigned the flawed T-5096 and XM-785 nuclear projectiles, developed a new forging process for titanium fuse components, and carried out the rapid prototyping of test projectiles simulating M454 nuclear rounds. Flammability testing In response to the growing importance of organic matrix composites in armor systems, AMMRC became responsible for flammability testing and assessment beginning in the early 1970s. Researchers conducted tests such as thermogravimetric analysis, limiting oxygen index determinations, smoke density measurements, and effluent toxicity analysis to gain insight into how a material behaves in a fire. AMMRC conducted these flammability assessments on various systems, including the GUARDRAIL Tactical Shelter, M109 Howitzer, and various composite armors and spall liners, for the purposes of fire safety. Researchers also conducted tests on the M2 Bradley’s resin matrix composites to verify that they presented a minimal fire hazard in case the vehicle received damage on the battlefield. Laminated metal-composite armor AMMRC advanced the development of laminated metal–composite armors during the late 1970s in response to armor systems cracking and plugging due to adiabatic shearing. The armor materials systems designed by AMMRC featured a metal front plate, either aluminum or hard steel, backed by a fiber-reinforced organic matrix composite, often Kevlar. While the aluminum-Kevlar laminates offered enhanced fragment protection, the steel-Kevlar laminates provided superior protection against both armor-piercing small-arms projectiles and fragments. These laminated metal composite armor systems were later fielded on the M220 TOW launcher on the M901ITV in 1978, the crew seats on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in 1980, the M9 Armored Combat Earthmover in 1983, and the M109 Howitzer upgrade in 1985. Depth of penetration test In 1988, researchers at MTL developed the residual penetration ballistic test to standardize the process of evaluating armor ceramics. Also known as the depth of penetration (DOP) test, it established a specific test setup that designated a specific value to measure ballistic performance. At the time, variations in testing methods made comparing ceramic armor systems difficult, so the DOP test rapidly gained acceptance within the armor community after it was introduced at a research conference in 1989. By 1993, MTL's residual penetration test was officially recognized as a military standard under MIL-STD-376. == See also ==