Army 17. 1 Small Business Innovation Research (sbir) Proposal Submission Instructions

PHASE I: The phase I effort shall produce a design for a pulsed laser demonstrations over the performance range detailed above at spectral region between 1.48-1.62 microns. The variable pulse parameters desired from this solicitation are repetition rates of 500 Hz – 5 kHz, pulse energies of 300 mJ – 50 mJ, and pulse duration of 1 ns – 10 ns. The quality of the output beam must support uniform illumination for overfilling the target and minimize speckle.

PHASE II: The Phase I designs will be utilized to fabricate, test, and evaluate a breadboard system. The designs will then be modified as necessary to produce a final prototype. The final prototype shall demonstrate operational capability specified in the solicitation and be packaged in a portable platform for ease of testing in beam control systems.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Civil, commercial and military applications include short-range counter-RAM and UAV time gated target illumination for LIDAR tracking in tactical platforms. The Phase III effort shall modify the design for ruggedization and integration into a testbed or HEL platform such as the Army’s High Energy Laser Mobile Tactical Truck (HEL-MTT) vehicle. Additional phase III efforts shall include field testing with a fine tracking system in a HEL testbed. Military funding for this Phase III effort would be executed by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center as part of its Directed Energy research.

REFERENCES:

1. “Recent Results for the Raytheon RELI Program”, David Filgas, Todd Clatterbuck, Matt Cashen, Andrew Daniele, Steve Hughes, David Mordaunt, Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, 2000 E. El Segundo Blvd., El Segundo, CA 90245, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 8381 83810W-1

2. “Nanosecond-pulsed erbium-doped fiber lasers with graphene saturable absorber”, Xiaoying Lü, Qun Han, Tiegen Liu, Yaofei Chen and Kun Ren, Laser Phys. 24 (2014) 115102 (6pp)

3. “2.4 mJ, 33 W Q-switched Tm-doped fiber laser with near diffraction-limited beam quality”, Fabian Stutzki, Florian Jansen, Cesar Jauregui, Jens Limpert, and Andreas Tünnermann, January 15, 2013 / Vol. 38, No. 2 / OPTICS LETTERS

4. “Compact gain-switching linearly polarized high-power Yb pulse fiber laser”, K H Wei, S S Cai, P P Jiang, D C Hua, Y X Yan, B Wu and Y H Shen, Laser Phys. 24 (2014) 085105 (4pp)

5. “Millijoule pulse energy 100-nanosecond Er-doped fiber laser”, Leonid Kotov, Mikhail Likhachev, Mikhail Bubnov, Oleg Medvedkov, Denis Lipatov, Aleksei Guryanov, Kirill Zaytsev,Mathieu Jossent, and Sébastien Février, April 1, 2015 / Vol. 40, No. 7 / OPTICS LETTERS

6. “Nanosecond Q-Switched Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser With Wide Pulse-Repetition-Rate Range Based on Topological Insulator”, Man Wu, Yu Chen, Han Zhang, and Shuangchun Wen, IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 50, NO. 6, JUNE 2014

7. “Toward Millijoule-Level High-Power Ultrafast Thin-Disk Oscillators”, Clara J. Saraceno, Florian Emaury, Cinia Schriber, Andreas Diebold, Martin Hoffmann, Matthias Golling, Thomas Sudmeyer, and Ursula Keller, IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 21, NO. 1, JANUARY / FEBRUARY

8. “Power-Scalable, Sub-Nanosecond Mode-Locked Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser Based on a Frequency-Shifted-Feedback Ring Cavity Incorporating a Narrow Bandpass Filter”, Luis Alonso Vazquez-Zuniga and Yoonchan Jeong, Journal of the Optical Society of Korea, Vol. 17, No. 2, April 2013, pp. 177-181

9. “Actively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber ring laser with a nanosecond ceramic optical switch”, Xiaoying Lü, Qun Han, Tiegen Liu, Yaofei Chen and Kun Ren, Laser Phys. 24 (2014) 115102 (6pp)

KEYWORDS: Pulsed laser, LIDAR, LADAR, eye-safe laser, laser illuminator, erbium laser

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Ground/Sea Vehicles

OBJECTIVE: To develop bridge launch technology which can be adapted to ultra-lightweight combat vehicle platforms to enable them to defeat gaps which may be encountered during their missions.

DESCRIPTION: Current Army Bridging technology, such as that described in [1] and [2], has been designed to primarily support heavy vehicles such as equipment transporters and main battle tanks. Few technologies currently exist which directly support the gap crossing needs of lightweight and ultra-lightweight vehicles such as that described in [3]. These types of vehicles currently would need to rely on these heavy vehicle bridging systems to provide gap-crossing capability. These bridging systems are unlikely to be able to keep up with the mobility and speed of the lighter vehicles, resulting in delays in completing their mission, as well as increasing their vulnerability to potential attacks. Therefore, there is a need for technology that will enable lightweight and ultra-lightweight vehicles to launch bridges to support their missions.

Ideally, the bridge launch technology should be capable of launching bridges of up to 13 feet in length and 5 feet wide. The launch technology should also be able to launch and retrieve a bridge in a short amount of time, within 5 minutes during daytime operations and within 10 minutes for nighttime operations, with a crew of no more than 3 Soldiers. The launch mechanism should be capable of operating in various environments, where characteristics such as temperature, altitude, and wind speed may vary. The technology should also be able to launch the bridge in varying bank conditions, to include the bank conditions and transverse slopes specified for Assault bridges in [4]. The bridge launch technology should not weigh more than 2000 lbs.

The goal of this project is to develop technology which will enable bridges to be launched and retrieved from lightweight and ultra-lightweight vehicles, thus providing them with enhanced mobility and the means to cross over gaps encountered during their missions.

PHASE I: In the Phase I effort, studies will be performed to assess the viability of the proposed technical approach. These studies should include discussions with TARDEC to identify specific requirements for the launcher, such as bridge weight that it needs to carry. The Phase I effort should include a preliminary analysis of the materials required for the launch mechanism, launch mechanism geometry, connections, potential effects on host vehicle mobility, and bridge length that it can safely launch. Small scale component testing, fit-up testing and material characterization may be performed along with modeling and simulation to obtain properties required for further analysis of the design, as well as obtain an initial assessment of the launcher.

PHASE II: The Phase II effort will further develop, test and demonstrate the bridge launch technology developed in Phase I. Phase II will build upon the results of the Phase I effort to investigate the viability of the technology at a larger scale and optimize it. Larger scale manufacturing and testing should be performed in addition to modeling and simulation to evaluate the bridge launch technology in various conditions. The bridge launch technology should be evaluated in terms of time to launch and retrieve a bridge, size of bridge which can be launched, and ability of the launch technology to launch and retrieve a bridge under various bank conditions and slopes. Phase II shall result in a prototype bridge launch mechanism that will be delivered to the Government for User evaluation.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Phase III work will further demonstrate the capability of the bridge launcher to be utilized in a variety of environmental conditions, to include various temperatures and altitudes. Durability of the bridge launch technology should also be assessed through the performance of multiple bridge launch and retrievals. Technology will directly transition to Defense Ultra-Lightweight vehicle programs to help to fulfill its gap crossing needs. Potential commercial applications for the technology include disaster relief, to enable first responders to rapidly get to areas that may not be easily accessible by heavier equipment. Department of transportation may also be able to adapt this technology to increase the speed at which highway bridge are installed over gaps.

REFERENCES:

1. “M60 AVLB”, http://www.military-today.com/engineering/m60_avlb.htm

2. “REBS – The Bridge for the Future Army”, https://www.gdels.com/products/bridge_1.asp?id=3

3. Atherton, Kelsey D. (2014, April 10) “This Badger Fits Inside An Osprey”. http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/badger-fits-inside-osprey

4. Trilateral Design and Test Code for Military Bridging and Gap-Crossing Equipment, Mr. Brian Hornbeck, U.S. Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command, 586-282-5608.

KEYWORDS: Bridging, Bridge Launch, Ultra-Lightweight Vehicles

A17-106

TITLE: Integration of variable fidelity models for designing ground vehicle systems

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Ground/Sea Vehicles

OBJECTIVE: To develop a design methodology and a system performance evaluation tool, that considers the credibility of the variable fidelities of the models used, in order to assess its holistic performance of various, often disparate system attributes.

DESCRIPTION: Program Managers, Army Evaluators in AEC and senior leaders need to make informed technical decisions that are based on data from models of different fidelity (Detailed vs Reduced Order), operators (expert vs novice), sources (model vs SME opinion), assumptions (empirical vs. physics-based), etc. A methodology and tool is required to take into account all of these factors and develop a holistic, system assessment that is data-based.

PHASE I: During the Phase I effort the contractor will develop the basic mathematical formulation which will enable to capture expert opinion within an automated multidisciplinary design optimization process. The new mathematical formulation will be implemented into a code that can be used to demonstrate the feasibility and value of the new capability. A case study that involves simplified survivability and mobility simulations for a generic component of a vehicle will be used for demonstration.

PHASE II: During the Phase II effort new capabilities will be developed that will make the fusion of modeling and simulation credibility in multidisciplinary design powerful and easy to use. Linguistic input will be provided by the users for defining the credibility of the models and for capturing the expert opinion when making decisions. The mathematical algorithm which will integrate this information in the design optimization process will be further expanded from Phase I. A vehicle case study that involves survivability and mobility simulations of variable fidelity will be used for demonstration.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The new product will be integrated in one of the vehicle demonstration programs of TARDEC (Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center). A tool developed using this methodology would be useful not only within the DoD and defense OEMs, but also in commercial automotive industry where models are used for different performance areas like Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Safety, Durability etc., with differing levels of fidelity, and an integrated assessment is necessary.The uniqueness of the product and its applicability to all engineering areas where M&S are used for digital product design will contribute to its commercial success. In fact, the methodology is applicable to even non-engineering areas such as finance and accounting.

REFERENCES:

1. TARDEC 30-Year Strategy, V.2.0, January 2016.

2. Guide for Verification and Validation in Computational Solid Mechanics, Transmitted by L.E. Schwer, Chair PTC 60 /V&V 10, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

3. NASA/SP-2010-576, Version 1.0, NASA Risk-Informed Decision Making Handbook, Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, NASA Headquarters.

4. N. Vlahopoulos, M. Castanier, E. Maes, N. Stowe, “Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of a Ground Vehicle Track for Durability and Survivability,” 2012 SAE Congress, Detroit MI, April 24-26, 2012.

5. T. Krueger, T. Page, K. Hubacek, L. Smith, and K. Hiscock, "The role of expert opinion in environmental modeling," Environmental Modelling and Software, 2012, pp. 1-15. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Fuzzy Set-Theory and Its Applications, 4th Ed. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA, 2001.

6. Thomas Saaty, How to make a decision: The Analytic Hierarchy Process. European Journal of Operational Research 48 (1990) 9-26. North Holland.

7. Hersch, H.M., Caramazza, A., 1976. A fuzzy set approach to modifiers and vagueness in natural language. J. Exp. Psychol. 105 (3), 254-276.

KEYWORDS: design optimization, design methodology, system performance, model credibility, high performance vehicle, light weight

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Ground/Sea Vehicles

OBJECTIVE: An automated systematic tradeoff tool for balancing several alternative considerations of survivability with mobility for advanced vehicle design

DESCRIPTION: Program Managers, system integrators and senior leaders need to make informed technical decisions based on trade-offs between two critical vehicle attributes, namely, Survivability and Mobility. A rigorous data-based tool that can perform this tradeoff over a wide range of performance criteria has been sought after for a long time.

PHASE I: During the Phase I effort the contractor shall develop the basic mathematical formulation which will enable set based design within an automated multidisciplinary design optimization process. The new mathematical formulation will be implemented into a code that can be used to demonstrate the feasibility and value of the new capability. A case study that involves simplified survivability and mobility simulations for a generic vehicle will be used for demonstration.

PHASE II: During the Phase II effort new capabilities will be developed that will make the set based design approach in multidisciplinary design powerful and easy to use. The mathematical algorithm will be further expanded from Phase I and new capabilities will be developed for making the process easy to use. New developments will be pursued for reducing the large number of function evaluations required by the typical set based design approach. A more comprehensive vehicle case study that involves survivability and mobility simulations shall be used for demonstration.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The new product will be integrated in to one of the vehicle demonstration programs of Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC). A tool developed with this methodology would be useful not only within the DoD but also in all defense OEMs and Tier suppliers involved in Mobility-Survivability tradeoffs in any manner. This tool can also be used in commercial auto industry where developers and engineers often have to balance conflicting demands of increased safety simultaneously with reduced Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH).

REFERENCES:

1. TARDEC 30-Year Strategy, V.2.0, January 2016.

2. S. Hannapel, N. Vlahopoulos, “Implementation of set-based design in multidisciplinary design optimization,” Struct Multidisc Optim., DOI 10.1007/s00158-013-1034-2.

3. B. Kempinski, C. Murphy, “Technical Challenges of the U.S. Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle Program,” Working Paper 2012-15, Congressional Budget Office Washington, D.C.

4. “Application of Lightweighting Technology to Military Vehicles, Vessels, and Aircraft,” Committee on Benchmarking the Technology and Application of Lightweighting; National Research Council, ISBN 978-0-309-22166-5.

KEYWORDS: lightweight structures, mobility, survivability, set based design

A17-108

TITLE: Lightweight Durable Bridge Decking

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Ground/Sea Vehicles

OBJECTIVE: To develop a lightweight durable bridge decking solution which is rapidly deployable and withstands the loading of a medium unmanned ground vehicle and one Soldier operator.

DESCRIPTION: There is a need for gap-crossing equipment to support crossings of medium unmanned ground vehicles and the Soldiers operating them. Inflatable bridges, or air beam structures, are one potential solution for these vehicles. However, few technologies currently exist which provide the durability required of the roadway surface to carry many crossings, while being lightweight, strong and rapidly deployable. These bridges are forced to rely on bridge decking made out of traditional materials to provide the roadway surface. While strong, these bridge decks are heavy, reducing the load carrying capacity of the inflatable structure and limiting the types of vehicles that can cross over the bridge. The deck weight also degrades the deployability of the bridge, increasing the amount of time required to deploy the bridge and slowing down the ability of the unit to move from one place to the next. There is a need for lightweight, rapidly deployable bridge decking technology that is also durable and capable of carrying heavy loads.

Ideally, the bridge decking technology should weigh no more than 600 pounds, with a desired weight target of 400 pounds, and be capable of carrying up to 3500 lbs of load. The decking technology should be rapidly deployable, with deployment taking no longer than 20 minutes for a 28 foot span, and should be able to interface with an inflatable bridge structure, made out of air-beams similar to that used in inflatable shelters such as that shown in [1], over a minimum 28 foot span. The bridge decking technology should also be durable, withstanding many crossings and inflation/ deflation cycles of the bridge without damage. The bridge decking should also be capable of bridging short gaps up to 5 feet without the need for the larger inflatable bridge structure. In this application, the decking should be able to accommodate varying bank conditions, to include the bank conditions and transverse slopes specified for Assault Bridges in [2]. The bridge decking should also be affordable, with a cost no more than 25% greater than decking made using traditional structural materials.

The goal of this project is to develop a lightweight modular bridge decking solution which interconnects and is rapidly deployable to interface with an inflatable bridge structure over a minimum 28 foot span, thus providing unmanned ground vehicles with a rapidly deployable and durable gap crossing solution.

Ideally, the bridge decking technology should weigh less than 700 pounds and be capable of carrying up to 3500 lbs of load. The decking technology should be rapidly deployable, taking no longer than 20 minutes for a 28 foot span, and should be able to interface with an inflatable bridge structure over a minimum 28 foot span. The bridge decking technology should also be durable, withstanding many crossings and inflation/ deflation cycles of the bridge without damage. The bridge decking should also be capable of bridging short gaps up to 5 feet without the need for the larger inflatable bridge structure. In this application, the decking should be able to accommodate varying bank conditions, to include the bank conditions and transverse slopes specified for Assault Bridges in [1].

The goal of this project is to develop a lightweight modular bridge decking solution which interconnects and is rapidly deployable to interface with an inflatable bridge structure over a minimum 28 foot span, thus providing unmanned ground vehicles with a rapidly deployable and durable gap crossing solution.

PHASE I: In the Phase I effort, studies will be performed to assess the viability of the proposed technical approach. These studies should include discussions with TARDEC to identify specific requirements for the bridge deck. The Phase I effort should include a preliminary analysis of the materials required for the deck, bridge deck geometry, connections, load carrying capability and span lengths that it can safely bridge without the larger inflatable structure, as well as an initial assessment on the affordability of the bridge deck. Small scale component testing, fit-up testing and material characterization may be performed along with modeling and simulation to obtain properties required for further analysis of the design, as well as obtain an initial assessment of the bridge.

PHASE II: The Phase II effort will further develop, test and demonstrate the bridge decking technology developed in Phase I. Phase II will build upon the results of the Phase I effort to investigate the viability of the technology at a larger scale and optimize it. Larger scale manufacturing and testing should be performed in addition to modeling and simulation to evaluate the bridge decking technology in various conditions. The bridge decking technology should be evaluated in terms of time to deploy, span at which it can be deployed with and without the larger inflatable structure, and amount of load it can carry. Phase II shall result in a prototype bridge deck that will be delivered to the Government for User evaluation.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Phase III work will further demonstrate the capability of the bridge deck to be utilized in a variety of environmental conditions, to include various temperatures and altitudes. Durability of the bridge deck technology should also be assessed through the performance of multiple crossings/ load applications over the deck. Potential commercial applications for the technology include disaster relief, to enable first responders to rapidly get to areas that may not be easily accessible by heavier equipment. Departments of transportation may also be able to adapt this technology for rapid repair of highway bridges.

REFERENCES:

1. “40 Series Airbeam Shelters”, http://www.hdtglobal.com/product/40-series-airbeam-shelters/

2. Trilateral Design and Test Code for Military Bridging and Gap-Crossing Equipment, Mr. Brian Hornbeck, U.S. Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command, 586-282-5608.

3. Cavallaro, Paul V., and Ali M. Sadegh. Air-inflated fabric structures. No. NUWC-NPT-RR-11774. NAVAL UNDERSEA WARFARE CENTER DIV NEWPORT RI, 2006.
4. Bridge deck dimensions (uploaded in SITIS 01/11/17).

KEYWORDS: Bridging, Deck, Lightweight, Durable

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Ground/Sea Vehicles

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 5.4.c.(8) of the Announcement.

OBJECTIVE: Develop a new technology solution to increase occupant survivability and decrease risk of ejection for occupants standing in an ingress/egress hatch opening as part of operational duty in a ground vehicle while experiencing an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) underbody blast event.

DESCRIPTION: This SBIR initiative serves to further improve occupant survivability outcomes against present and future Improvised Explosive Device (IED) threats. A new technology solution is sought to mitigate occupant ejection for a vehicle occupant experiencing an underbody blast while standing at nametag defilade through a round hatch opening as part of their operational duty. The new technology solution shall be passive and shall be demonstrated using an unencumbered and unrestrained 50th percentile standing male Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD). The new technology solution shall have no effect on occupant ingress/egress through the round hatch opening and it shall be effective for occupants experiencing a vehicle vertical lift-off velocity of up to 8.0 meters/second in a g-force acceleration environment as a result of the underbody blast. Effectiveness of the new technology solution shall be assessed by comparing ATD kinematics between baseline configuration and new technology solution configuration with maximum ATD head target excursion provided in the contract. The new technology solution shall be represented as either a component or system-based solution and shall be supplied as a kit with hardware, attaching components and installation instructions for integrating the solution into a ground vehicle. The new technology solution kit shall not exceed a maximum weight threshold as provided in the contract.