TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles, Sensors, Battlespace

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Oceanographer of Navy, Mine Warfare, Space and Naval Warfare. S&T

OBJECTIVE: Develop a geotechnical sensor that is autonomous or may be integrated with an autonomous underwater vehicle. The sensor would sample on a dense spatial array a number of geotechnical properties such as shear and bearing strengths and store them for post-mission analysis or transmit directly to the surface for real-time analysis.

DESCRIPTION: We seek innovative approaches to providing rapid geotechnical assessment of the seafloor from an autonomous platform. These approaches may be integrated with or adapted from an existing autonomous platform, or they can include development of a new platform. The sensor might utilize acoustic or mechanical sampling methods, or develop another approach.

PHASE I: Propose a sampling methodology, determine the feasibility and determine its expected accuracy and resolution. Compare the expected specifications with those required by existing or future Naval operations.

PHASE II: Develop a prototype and test its performance, verifying its actual accuracy and resolution. The prototype must be able to accurately and rapidly characterize seafloor geotechnical properties over an area of about 1 square kilometer. The data must be reliably stored or transmitted for subsequent analysis.

PHASE III: Prepare the sensor for operational testing during a Naval exercise. Determine its potential for operational effectiveness and suitability, and provide documentation.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: A capability to obtain detailed characterization of seafloor geotechnical properties would benefit private and public environmental assessment including engineering, geological, biological, and chemical properties related to soil stability, sedimentation and erosion and pollution, particularly near harbors.

REFERENCES:
1. Stoll, R. D. and T. Akal 1999:"XBP-A tool for rapid assessment of seabed sediment properties,Sea Technology, Vol 40, No. 2, pp. 47-51.
2. Stoll, R. D. and Y-F Sun, 2004. Using Static and Dynamic Penetrometers to Measure Sea Bed Properties, www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/ocean/reports/docs/cg/04/cgstoll.pdf
3. D. Elsworthn and D.S. Lee, 2005. Indentation of a free-falling lance penetrometer into a poroelastic seabed. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech., 29:141�162.
4. Lambert DN, Walter DJ, Young DC, et al., 1999. Acoustic sediment classification developments, SEA TECHNOLOGY 40 (9):35

KEYWORDS: strength; shear strength; mud; MCM; acoustic; penetrometer

TPOC: Nathaniel Plant
Phone: (703)696-4299
Fax: (703)696-3390
Email: [email protected]
2nd TPOC: Thomas Drake
Phone: (703)696-1206
Fax: (703)696-3390
Email: [email protected]

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

DoD Notice:   Between May 1, 2006 and June 13, 2006, you may talk directly with the Topic Author(s) to ask technical questions about the topics. Their contact information is listed above. For reasons of competitive fairness, direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed starting June 14, 2006 , when DoD begins accepting proposals for this solicitation.

However, proposers may still submit written questions about solicitation topics through the SBIR/STTR Interactive Topic Information System (SITIS), in which the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing until the solicitation closes. All proposers are advised to monitor SITIS (06.2 Q&A) during the solicitation period for questions and answers, and other significant information, relevant to the SBIR 06.2 topic under which they are proposing.

If you have general questions about DoD SBIR program, please contact the DoD SBIR Help Desk at (866) 724-7457 or email weblink.