TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Materials/Processes

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Program Manager Advanced Amphibious Assault (PM AAA) - ACAT 1D

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.

OBJECTIVE: Research, develop and characterize polyurea materials ability to increase blast and fragment protection.

DESCRIPTION: The Marine Corps EFV is a 76,000 lb armored and tracked troop carrier designed to operate over harsh off-road terrain and in oceans and rivers. The EFV design is limited due to competing requirements: 1) The design must be light weight, 2) must maintain current ground clearance, and 3) must increase survivability. The polyurea family of materials shows the potential to increase blast protection via application onto metallic and non-metallic materials. Further research is required to implement this technology onto ground based vehicles. The selected material(s) must demonstrate the ability to function in extreme operating environments which include but are not limited to -25°F to +120°F, hot dessert blowing sand, full salt water immersion and immersion in petroleum based liquids. In addition to environmental conditions the coating(s) must demonstrate the ability to be applied on and perform on complex geometric shapes and act as a blast mitigator and fragment suppressor. The intent of this technology research is to increase blast and fragment protection up to and including STANAG 4569 Level 4a and 4b.

PHASE I: The contractor shall conduct research into the polyurea family of coating materials suitable for use in the environmental, geometric and blast/fragment condition. The contractor shall develop a methodology for optimizing the thickness and location of the coating on various substrates. Substrate materials will include but are not limited to aluminum alloys, rolled homogenous armor (RHA) and composites. Based on their research, the contractor shall create a conceptual design including estimated weight, cost and performance characteristics

PHASE II: The contractor shall manufacture a prototype(s) and conduct ballistic testing to validate their design meets EFV specified performance levels and characterize the coating performance. The results of the ballistic testing, when applied to the performance of the EFV will be considered classified.

PHASE III: Contract with the prime vendor (General Dynamics Land Systems) to integrate the system onto the EFV. This technology is directly applicable to large military vehicles such as the Army’s FCS.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Successful development and characterization of the blast and fragment mitigation properties of polyurea materials should enable the design engineers to select new and innovative methods to optimize design criteria, and to tailor these designs based on the material characteristics. Presently, there is a strong need to develop blast and fragment protective solutions for uses in various military and commercial land and sea based vehicles. This technology is also applicable to the protection of structures.

REFERENCES:
1. EFV S/SS Specification Rev H. dated 21 June 21, 2006.

2. MIL-STD-810F Environmental Test Methods and Engineering Guidelines

3. MIL-STD-889B Dissimilar Metals

4. AR 70-75 Survivability of Army Personnel and Materials

5. STANAG 4569

KEYWORDS: Ballistic; Materials; Polyurea; Lightweight; Blast Mitigation; Fragment Protection

TPOC: Matthew Brown
Phone: (703)490-7238
Fax:
Email: brownmd@efv.usmc.mil
2nd TPOC: Craig Harvey
Phone: (703)492-3327
Fax: (703)492-5330
Email: harveyct@efv.usmc.mil