Carbon fiber barrel sleeve resiliently bonded to steel liner and method of construction

A carbon fiber barrel assembly comprising:

• a barrel liner having flutes cut longitudinally into an exterior surface of the barrel liner, the flutes being generally longitudinal and configured such that a depth of the flutes is at least equal to a width of the flutes, the flutes defining fins in interspaces between adjacent flutes;
• the barrel liner, further, having a barrel liner contour and being formed of a stress-relieved steel alloy;
• a carbon fiber sheath comprising a plurality of layers of carbon fiber fabric having been laid up and cured on a mandrel;
• the mandrel having a contour substantially identical to the barrel liner contour;
• and
• a high temperature adhesive being uniformly present at tips of the fins and employed to bind the barrel liner to the carbon sheath.

A method for forming a carbon fiber barrel assembly, the method comprising:

• turning a bored, reamed and rifled barrel blank to have a barrel liner contour, the barrel liner contour extending from a shoulder proximate to a breach to a tenon proximate to a muzzle and extending over a radius and taper, the barrel liner contour configured to be substantially cylindrical at each of the tenon and shoulder;
• fluting the turned barrel blank with substantially longitudinal flutes, the each one of the flutes having a depth at least equal to a width the flute has, the flutes situated to define fins in an interspace between adjacent flutes;
• applying a coating of cement to uniformly cover at least a radial extremity of the fins, the shoulder and tenon;
• and
• binding the barrel blank to a carbon fiber sheath laid up, formed and cured on a mandrel having a contour substantially identical to the barrel liner contour.