• Harmonically treated to achieve the most advanced, high performance barrels in the world.

• Advantages
– Superior cold bore performance
– Recoil reduction
– Flatter SD
– Reduced mirage
– Little to no load development
– Greater barrel life
– Free velocity potential
– BC gain potential

• Patented barrel technology

Of the major advantages advertised shooting a Structured Barrel®, one is achieving superior cold bore performance.

Harmonics

Harmonics describe the natural, vibrational frequency an object affected by its harmonic mode, a function of material stiffness (modules of elasticity), mass distribution, and structural stiffness.

P and S Waves

Harmonics consist of S and P waves. S waves are translational sinosodial functions and P waves are complex sheering functions generated from compressive and expansive forces.  When a barrel whips, S and P waves propagate through the barrel at 8,000-13,000 mph, respectively, traversing the entire barrel ~5x before the bullet even exits the muzzle.

Non-linear Acceleration

S and P waves originate from a projectile striking the rifling, transfering enormous energy into the compression then expansion of the barrel, rippling up and down the barrel at 13,000 mph, and as expanding gases compresses the projectile through the bore, generating radial P and S wave functions.  These propogate throughout the barrel, inducing amplitudes that manifest as barrel whip.  The work done by the projectile to momentarily straighten the bore not only expends valuable kinetic energy (velocity), but it also creates additional supersonic flexions.  Thus, projectiles do not undergo a constant, linear acceleration. This falsely assumes an absolute conservation of energy transferred into the bullet with zero energy lost in a whipping barrel – impossible. Rather, a projectile experiences a non-linear, stuttering acceleration as the barrel whips and it works to straighten the bore.

Cold Bore Performance

There is no way to stop harmonic reverberation within a barrel for achieving absolute deadness requires an infinitely stiff object – impossible.  However, by creating a series of independent, physical features to sectionalize a barrel, these resist S and P waves. 

Harmonics (like everything) look to travel the path of least resistance. A standard barrel is a uniform, homogenous medium, ideal for a propagating frequencies. Compare that to a Structured Barrel®, the design inherently adopts a series of shapes and features that act as roadblocks for varying wave functions, even at the surface.  

These features result in more controlled S and P wave functions, reducing barrel whip for greater precision and linear acceleration.

Summary

Barrel whip affects projectile acceleration and velocity.  More rigid the barrel, greater the control.

Of the major advantages advertised shooting a Structured Barrel®, one is recoil reduction.

Harmonics

Structured Barrels® directionalize frequencies to be uniplanar for optimum cancellation (comparable to a shotgun mic). There is no way to stop harmonic reverberation within a barrel, and to achieve absolute deadness would require an infinitely stiff object – impossible.  However, we can work to directionalize waves to follow the same axis as recoil versus it emanating in a radial, sinusoidal pattern creating complex amplitudes felt by the shooter.

P and S Waves

Harmonics is similar to electricity in the fact both look for a ground, described by entropy. When a barrel whips, S and P waves are propagating through the barrel at 8,000-13,000 mph, respectively, traversing the entire barrel ~5x before the bullet even exits the muzzle.  These vibrations do not stop at the barrel though. Energy is translated through the rifle and (hopefully – properly) absorbed by the shooter in those critical microseconds.

Barrel Tuners

Many may not realize, P and S waves are not the same, and while barrel tuners assist barrel whip (S waves), the sheering P wave are much more complex.  This also excludes the fact harmonics rapidly change with temperature (why do we expect groups to open up on a standard barrel?) so tuning a barrel in one weather condition will optimally work at that temperature.  Obviously, there is a range, but at what cost in accuracy?

Recoil

Creating a series of independent, physical features assists to sectionalize the barrel to resist both S and P waves.  Harmonics like everything looks to travel the path of least resistance. A standard barrel is a uniform, homogenous medium, ideal for a propagating frequencies. Compare that to a Structured Barrel®, the design inherently adopts a series of shapes and features to act as roadblocks for varying wave functions, even at the surface, so the shooter feels less recoil.  

The result is a smooth, muted recoil impulse that pushes straight back, so shooters may even be able to self-spot and watch trace.

Summary

Barrel whip affects recoil.  More rigid the barrel, greater the control.

Of the major advantages advertised shooting a Structured Barrel®, one is achieving a greater barrel life.

Harmonics

Objects exhibit a natural vibrational frequency described by its harmonic mode, a function of material stiffness (modules of elasticity), mass distribution, and structural stiffness.  Wave functions originating from within an object look to propagate at a matching, fundamental frequency.  Sinusoidal waves that diverge from its natural frequency generate irregularities and non-repeating wave patterns that create vibrations.  Harmonics propagate efficiently through uniform objects.  Thus changing its mass distribution and structural stiffness will affect its mode and underline frequency,  while material stiffness is affected by temperature and force.

Energy

Force is derived by multiplying mass and acceleration, the rate velocity changes in respect to time.  Increasing acceleration increases the amount of force and resulting energy that can be transferred into an object through work.  Supersonic flexion, commonly referred to as barrel whip, describes rapid harmonic acceleration, and since a barrel has mass, the work done to accelerate this mass by tensive and compressive forces generates enormous energy.

The law for the conservation of energy states energy of an isolated system remains constant for energy is neither created nor destroyed, only converted into different forms.  Therefore, work applied to a barrel to undergo flexion converts into thermal energy and this principle for work to conduct thermal energy is described by the Carnot engine and is a fundamental thermodynamic concept for entropy, a high-to-low energy state.

Thermal Energy

Thus, thermal energy is the vibration of particles. Higher the temperature, faster the vibrational frequency.  Temperature is the average kinetic energy of vibrating particles, and because everything vibrates, defined by quantam physics, everything has temperature.  Despite particles not vibrating at the same rate as the distribution of these particles is called a Maxwellian distribution, it is important to note as vibration increases, all of the individual particle speeds increases and this is measurable and quantative as temperature, the average kintetic energy of a system’s particles.

Thermal Embrittlement

Thermal energy alters the orbital state of electrons and thus can change a material’s atomic, mechanical, vibrational, and thermal properties (among others).  This is known as a phase shift and this is the reason material stiffness is affected by stress and subsequent temperature gains when force is applied to perform work.  Stresses that exceed an object’s state for material stiffness provided by its temperature moment will result in molecular/material failure, a phenomenon called thermal embrittlement.

Harmonic Modes

Material stiffness (modules of elasticity), mass distribution, and structural stiffness are functions that describe a barrel’s harmonic mode.  When a standard barrel undergoes whip, the system works to vibrate on a sinusoidal wave that matches its natural, fundamental frequency.  However, supersonic flexion yields diverging frequencies that make the barrel rapidly accelerate with irregular and non-repeating amplitudes.  The result stresses the barrel’s material stiffness and the work acted to vibrate the barrel at the macro and atomic scale is converted into thermal energy and is absorbed by electrons, raising temperature.  Heat raises orbital states, altering modules of elasticity and exasperating discrepant frequencies, and this makes the material more susceptible to thermal embrittlement.  Once the stress from supersonic flexion exceeds the material’s stiffness provided by its temperature moment, throat erosion, fire cracking, and gas jetting is caused by molecular failure.

Structured Barrels® restrict this phenomenon by increasing a barrel’s harmonic mode and purposely configured to directionalize residual harmonic frequencies for cancellation.  Enhancing its structural stiffness and mass distribution (compared to a standard barrel of the same weight) restricts supersonic flexion and thus the work and stress converted into thermal energy.  This achieves superiorly more stable modules of elasticity for prolonged material stiffness and resists thermal embrittlement.  Structured Barrels are the culmination of many physics principles (harmonics, material acceleration, energy, and thermodynamics) working in concert for a harmonically dead barrel that requires little to no load development and exhibits increased barrel life.

Summary

Structured Barrels® are configured to directionalize harmonic frequencies for cancellation, and with its enhanced structural stiffness (compared to a standard barrel of the same weight), restricts particle vibrations that induce amplitudes that manifest as barrel whip, and thus the work converted into thermal energy.  When a standard barrel whips, the work converted into thermal energy alters material attributes (modules of elasticity) and thus makes it more susceptible to thermal embrittlement, throat erosion, fire cracking, and gas jetting faster, decreasing barrel life.  Achieving greater stiffness results in less whip and less heat for greater temperature stability, prolonging material attributes and therefore barrel life.  Structured Barrels® utilize many physics principles (harmonics, material acceleration, energy, and thermodynamics) to achieve a harmonically dead barrel that requires little to no load development and exhibits increased barrel life.

Of the major advantages advertised shooting a Structured Barrel®, one is achieving a free velocity.

Law for the Conservation of Energy

The law for the conservation of energy states energy of an isolated system remains constant for energy is neither created nor destroyed, only converted into different forms.  This applies to the chemical energy stored in gun powder that is then released upon detonation and converted into kinetic energy as a projectile accelerates.  However, this conversion is not absolute for the work done to whip and haromincally resonate the system uses energy.

Structural Stiffness

Structured Barrels® are superiorly more rigid due to its inherit structural stiffness and resulting mass distribution achieved by AUX drilling, a deep-hole drill pattern around the bore that uniplanarizes frequencies and resists sinusoidal harmonics via axial compression.  Therefore, the energy not lost whipping and harmonically resonating a barrel is gained as kinetic energy for potentially higher muzzle velocities.

Summary

Barrel whip is energy lost accelerating a bullet.  More rigid the barrel, less energy lost.

Of the major advantages advertised shooting a Structured Barrel®, one is achieving a greater ballistic coefficient (BC).

Ballistic Coefficients

Ballistic coefficient describes external bullet performance; its ability to resist drag.  Often expressed as a three digiit value,  higher the number, greater efficiency to fly down range, retaining velocity and thus resulting in less drop and wind deflection.

Sierra Bullets Exert

“Theoretically, the BC of a bullet depends only on its weight, caliber and shape. But in a practical sense, the measured BC of a bullet also depends on many other effects.  The gun can affect the measured BC value in two important ways: spin stabilization and tipoff moments. A bullet is gyroscopically stabilized by its spin, which is imparted by the rifling in the barrel. If a bullet is perfectly stabilized by its spin, then its longitudinal axis (which is also its spin axis) is almost perfectly aligned with its velocity vector. If a bullet is not perfectly stabilized (which is usually the case), the bullet may not be tumbling, but its point undergoes a precessional rotation as it flies. In previous editions of Sierra’s Reloading Manuals we have described this precessional rotation and have called it “coning” motion to aid in mental visualization of the motion. As the bullet flies, the point rotates in a circular arc around the direction of the velocity vector. Coning motion results in increased drag on the bullet, and any firing test method then yields an effective BC value for the bullet that is lower than the theoretical value.  We have never been successful in accurately predicting BC values, or determining these values by any method other than firing tests..”  – 2.4 Lessons Learned from Ballistic Coefficient Testing 

Pitch

Due to the fact barrels whip, load development standards call for bullets to pass through the muzzle at an amplitude, the maximum vibrational displacement from its equilibrium, to reduce adverse effects of barrel acceleration on external ballistic performance.  There are only two positions along its entire sinusodial whip that will experience zero acceleration, and due to the fact bullets have length and cannot be evaluated as a finite point, bullets always undergo some value of pitch.  Greater the amplitude, greater the acceleration toward equilibrium, resulting in greater pitch along a bullet’s length.

Structured Barrels® are superiorly more rigid and thus have smaller harmonic amplitudes.  This results in a less vibrational acceleration and less pitch, yielding potentially a greater ballistic coefficient.

Summary

Barrel whip induces bullet pitch.  More rigid the barrel, less pitch for a higher ballistic coefficient.

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