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

Furthermore, modeling and simulation of the shaped charge liners indicated that a variety of warhead performance variables associated with these charges can be controlled through the use of multiple materials, reactive materials, an ultrafine microstructure, or an axial or transverse gradient design. In the case of shaped charges, research has shown that jet stability, jet velocity (tip and tail), jet cross-sectional shape and other variables can be optimized by selectively using different materials for the different regions of the warhead.

The goal of this effort will be a warhead capable of penetrating 1-in. of aluminum and a follow through mechanism that can render the electronics inoperable (with a spray (cone) angle of at least 70 degrees). Appropriate warhead design, high rate performance, and manufacturability will all be demonstrated as part of this work.

PHASE I: Develop (using M&S) novel material combinations and warhead designs as discussed above. Fabricate test coupons and conduct high strain rate materials characterization to determine the rate dependent stress strain response of materials followed by metallurgical characterization. Additionally, welding materials without compromising bi–metal jet formation will also need to be demonstrated. The requirement calls for the delivery of at least two (2) samples to the US Army for independent characterization.

PHASE II: Downselect the two best material formulations, provide a shaped charge design, and optimize the most cost effective prototyping technology. The processing technology will be scaled up to be able to fabricate 25 identical shaped charges for each material (geometric details will be provided to the successful design). This will be followed by a thorough metallurgical characterization and high strain rate evaluation of these materials. Finally, prototypes will be fabricated from the most promising concept, loaded and tested. For weaponization, further optimization will be required in tactical configurations.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Transition the developed materials and related technology to a major manufacturer for incorporating this technology to Project Manager Close Combat Systems (PM-CCS) Shoulder Launch Munitions systems. To further exploit the benefits of the developed technology, form partnerships with other manufacturers for applications to the civil sectors such as the oil well and construction industries where shaped charges are used to break, crack, or drill holes in rocks. This technology can also be leveraged to mining applications as well as applications occur in submarine blasting, breaking log jams, breaking ice jams, initiating avalanches, timber or tree cutting, the perforation of arctic sea-ice or permafrost, glacier blasting, ice breaking, and underwater demolition.

REFERENCES:

1. T.H. Vuong, et.al. “Simulation Modeling and Experimentation Studies of Fragmentation Shaped Charge Warhead”, Monterey, CA August 2011

2. USPTO, US8813651 B1, Method of Making Shaped Charges and Explosively Formed Projectiles, Hooke, 8/26/2014

3. Curtis, J. P., Cornish, R. 1999. Formation Model for Shaped Charge Liners Comprising Multiple Layers of Different Materials. Proceedings from the 18th International Ballistics Symposium

4. Curtis, J. P., Smith, F. T., and White, A. 2012. The Formation and Stretching of Bi-Material Shaped Charge Jets. 2012 AIP Conference Proceedings

5. Hasenberg, D. 2010. Consequences of Coaxial Jet Penetration Performance and Shaped Charge Design Criteria. Naval Post-Graduate School Report No. NPS-PH-10-001

6. Mason, J. S. 2010. Experimental Testing of Bimetallic and Reactive Shaped Charge Liners. Master of Science Thesis – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

KEYWORDS: Bi-metal, angle of spray, light armored vehicles, lethality, welding, shaped charge, EFP

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Weapons

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: The objective of this topic is to research innovations for electrolyte optimization such as room temperature ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents to widen the operating temperature (-45 C to 65 C), nanostructured electrode materials to improve the electrode/electrolyte interface for higher power/energy densities, and cost-effective large scale synthesis of next generation supercapacitors.

DESCRIPTION: As an alternative energy storage device, supercapacitors (SCs) offer several advantages such as high specific capacitance, power density, long cycle life, the ability to be charged or discharged within a few seconds to milliseconds, and survivability of multiple charge/discharge cycles [1]. While the energy density of SCs is better than that of conventional capacitors, it is still an order of magnitude lower than that of battery technology. As an example, the energy density and power density of available products are typically in the range 1-7 Wh/kg and 2.5-14 kW/kg, respectively [2]. While there has been continuous improvement in the electrode materials to increase the energy and power densities, room exists for optimization of the electrolyte to achieve energy densities closer to the theoretical limits [1, 3-5]. Also, recent research suggests that by using nanomaterials the capacitance, power and energy densities can be ehnanced [6]. In addition to large power and energy densities, other desired attributes of military grade supercapacitors include the following: wide operational (-45 C to 65 C), survival, and storage (-55 C to 75 C) temperature ranges; long shelf life ( > 20 years); high G survivability (~ 80k); low equivalent series resistance; long (> 100,000) cycle life; high reliability; and cost effectiveness.

Electrolytes play a crucial role in determining the operational temperatures because ionic conductivity at low temperatures and flammability at high temperatures are the limiting issues. Thus, developing safer electrolytes that perform over a wide temperature range is a critical need. In this regard, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) appear as potential low cost alternatives to ionic liquids as electrolytes [7, 8].

PHASE I: Develop a design for an appropriate eutectic mixture utilizing deep eutectic solvents (DESs) to synthesize safe and long shelf life electrolytes for supercapacitors that function in military grade operational (-45 C to 65 C) and storage (-55 C to 75 C) temperatures. Low-temperature ionic conductivity must not affected significantly while increasing the operational temperature. Design approaches would include varying the eutectic compositions to achieve liquid phase over the operational temperature range and low viscous solvents to enhance the ionic conductivities, particularly at low temperatures. Parameters such as ionic conductivity, viscosity, and electrochemical stability will be the variables to consider in the design space. Experimental verification of the optimum design of the electrolyte will be demonstrated.

PHASE II: Based on the results from Phase I, suitable eutectic electrolytes will be synthesized and integrated with graphene based hybrid electrodes that will be developed in Phase II. Methods for large scale synthesis of the electrode materials will be explored. Graphene composites with other materials such as metal oxides and polymers will be explored for improving the electrode/electrolyte interface for higher power/energy densities. Coin cell supercapacitors will be constructed to quantitatively evaluate the properties such as electrochemical stability, charge/discharge rate capabilities, capacitance, effective series resistance, power and energy densities and cyclic life over the operational temperatures and as a function of cycling and sound theoretical models will be developed to explain the experimental trends. The results will be benchmarked against existing conventional supercapacitor materials. Following are the values of various objective parameters:

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The end state of the effort is a robust, low-cost, large-scale synthesis of safe eutectic electrolytes and graphene-based nanostructured electrode materials for next generation supercapacitors. This break-through can benefit military systems such as the Precision Guided Kit (PGK) and Excalibur. A more robust SC technology will allow for faster setting of these rounds in the battlefield thereby improving safety and efficiency of the soldier; allow more time between setting of the round and firing, affording the soldier in the battlefield more flexibility; and an enhanced ability of the rounds to operate across greater temperature extremes with improved reliability. As a strategy for transitioning the technology developed through this effort, customers such as the Program Manager Combat Ammunition Systems (PM CAS) and Product Manager Guided Precision Mortar Munition Systems (PdM GPM2S), who have the requirement for the development and production of the PGK and Excalibur systems, will be kept informed. At the end of Phase II, results will be briefed to PM CAS and PdM GPM2S and other stakeholders as required and efforts will be made to identify insertion of the technology in programs upon further maturation.

REFERENCES:

1. M.S. Halper and J.C. Ellenbogen, “Supercapacitors: A brief overview,” MITRE Report, MP 05W0000272, Mar. 2006

2. http://www.maxwell.com/images/documents/Product_Comparison_Matrix_3000489_2.pdf

3. S.M. Chen, R. Ramachandran, V. Mani and R. Saraswathi, “Recent advancements in electrode materials for the high performance electrochemical supercapacitors: A review,” Int. J. Electrochem.Sci. 9, 4072-85, 2014

4. R. Berenguer, “Trends and reseatch challenges in supercapacitors,” Boletín del Grupo Español del Carbón, 37, 9-13, 2015

5. G. Xiong, C. Meng, R. G. Reifenberger, P.P. Irazoqui and T.S. Fisher, “A review of graphene based electrochemical micro-supercapacitors,” Electroanalysis, 26, 30-51, 2014

6. M. Meyyappan, “Nanostructured materials for supercapacitors,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 31, 05803-1, 2013

7. A.P. Abbott, D. Boothby, G. Capper, D.L. Davies and R.K. Rasheed, “Deep eutectic solvents formed between choline chloride and carboxylic acids: Versatile alternatives to ionic liquids,” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126, 9142-7, 2004

8. A.P. Abbott, G. Capper, D.L. Davies and R. K. Rasheed, “Ionic liquid analogues formed from hydrated metal salts,” Chemistry, 10, 3769–74, 2004

KEYWORDS: Supercapacitors, wide operating temperature, electrolyte, electrodes, power density, energy density

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Electronics

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 and demonstrate an innovative, cost-effective, lightweight, tripod mounted system that can search/surveillance, detect, identify, track and determine the intent and threat level of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The development of a flexible, tripod mounted, low-cost, low-power consumption system capable of taking over the navigation systems and can impart key functions necessary for the hostile UAV to safely navigate and land in a safe place for further characterization/exploitation. This multi-band RF / multi-mode software defined radio (SDR) and EO/IR tripod mounted suite of sensors shall be easy to operate, MMI, designed to defeat frequency hopping and collision avoidance UASs and collect the information necessary to make engagement decisions based on the nature of the threat through payload evaluation, flight path analysis, and configuration.

DESCRIPTION: The usage of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for recreational and professional purposes has increased rapidly. With the proliferation of these devices comes increased security concerns for both military and civilian facilities. UAVs may be repurposed to gather intelligence, engage in attacks, threaten military and civilian air assets, and to conduct criminal activities. In addition, UAV developers and hobbyists have the ability to rapidly modify the UAV configuration with inexpensive and widely available off the shelf technology to extend communication distances, allow for autonomous flight, and increase flight time. Taken together, UAVs represent a rapidly evolving threat to targets throughout the world.

Countermeasure systems have been developed by industry and government organizations that include interfering with RF communications between the controller and device, overriding commands, applying directed energy weapons, and disabling systems with munitions. Each type of countermeasure technique has characteristic effectiveness, risks to warfighters, collateral damage, and costs. In order for the warfighter to determine the best countermeasure for a given scenario, information about the intent of the UAS is needed.

Cost-effective, innovative multispectral tripod mounted systems are needed to provide information to the warfighter to make an informed decision as to whether a countermeasure should be deployed and what type is best to defeat a threatening UAS. The effort will develop methods, hardware, and software to provide the warfighter with sufficient information on the intent and threat level of an incoming UAS to make countermeasure decisions. Hardware may include RF sensors, cameras, and other devices that provide information to a software system that determines threat level and intent.

This research provides the first demonstration of a small, low cost, flexible, multispectral system capable of surveillance, detection and tracking UAVs and geo-locating the ground operator.

PHASE I: Design and prototype a proof of concept multispectral system for UAV intent and threat level assessment. Designs should include all proposed concepts of operation, analysis, hardware and software subsystems, capabilities, and methods of validating the system. Particular attention should be paid to the Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWAP-C) characteristics of the proposed design. The end system should be tripod mountable for easy man portable deployment. The software for determining intent and threat level should be designed for an open architecture and plug and play, allowing for competitive software development and easy integration.

PHASE II: Further develop the multispectral prototype system. Prototypes should be tripod mountable and have favorable (SWAP-C) characteristics. Mature the intent and threat level software in an open architecture. Develop test methods and evaluate the system performance in the field.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Finalize all aspects of the multispectral system and prepare for distribution. The final system can be provided to federal, state, and local government organizations as well as industry to determine intent of incoming UAS threats. Examples include police departments, port authority, and private sector industries that are concerned with enemy surveillance or espionage. The offeror can forge relationship with UAS countermeasure providers to develop end to end systems. Additionally, the system can be repurposed to evaluate the intent and threat level of other aerial and ground systems of interest.

REFERENCES:

1. Tedesco, Matthew T. “Countering the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Threat”, Military Review, November-December 2015, http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/MilitaryReview/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20151231_art012.pdf

KEYWORDS: unmanned, aerial, system, electronic warfare, electronic surveillance, multi-spectral, radio frequency, tripod, mounted, threat level, intent, man portable, countermeasure

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Weapons

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 and demonstrate shaped charge warheads that can maintain penetration capabilities when spinning.

DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Army has a requirement for a shaped charge warhead that can maintain its penetration capability while spinning. Shaped charged liner jet formation can be adversely affected by spinning because of the angular momentum of the jet particles have the tendency to spread radially, making the jet hollow and greatly reducing its penetration capabilities.

In the past, efforts had made to compensate the spinning effects by using fluted liners. However, the fluted liners proved to be too complex to manufacture and were only effective for a particular spin rate. The key was to develop an entirely new concept that could effectively reduce the spin effects. The causes of spin compensation can be mechanical in nature or can be due to microstructural issues such as texture, residual stress, grain size, and morphology variations. Several methods including material design, processing, and composition have been devised to modify the shaped charge liner to reduce or eliminate the detrimental effect of spin on penetration.

PHASE I: Develop concepts in Modeling and Simulation (M&S), conduct a feasibility study, and provide the results of proof of principle experimentation which include a lab scaled prototypes that show it achieves at least 85% of its penetration when subjected to spinning at 200 RPS compared to no spinning.

PHASE II: Downselect the two best concepts, build, and test prototypes. Perform at least 6 tests for each concept for penetration into the RHA (Rolled Homogeneous Armor) steel and 6 jet characteristics (JC) tests for each concept for non-spinning and spinning conditions.

Implement Shaped Charge into Tactical Configuration: The shaped charge liners must fit into the existing warhead of M430A1 to be used in the MK19 grenade launcher. Fusing and intiation scheme, weight and CG shall maintain the same.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Transition the developed materials and related technology to a major manufacturer for incorporating (implementing) this technology to Project Manager Maneuver Ammunition Systems (PM-MAS) M430A1 and M433 systems. To further exploit the benefits of the developed technology, form partnerships with other manufacturers for private sector applications, such as the oil well and construction industries, that use shaped charges to break, crack, or drill holes in rocks. This technology can also be leveraged for mining applications, submarine blasting, breaking log jams, breaking ice jams, initiating avalanches, timber cutting, the perforation of arctic sea ice or permafrost, glacier blasting, ice breaking, and underwater demolition.

REFERENCES:

1. J. Simon, “Spin Compensation with Special Shaped Liners”, BRL, APG, Maryland

2. W. Walters, “An Overview of the Shaped Charge Concept”, Dept. of Mathematical Sciences, West Point, NY

3. L. Zernow, “Spin Compensated Liner for Shaped Charge Ammunition and Method of Making Same”, U.S. Patent, 3,976,010

4. S. Singh, “Penetration of Rotating Shaped Charge”, Defence Science Laboratory, 1959

KEYWORDS: spin, shaped charge, fluted liners, jet formation, hollowed jet, decoupled

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Weapons

OBJECTIVE: To develop a module that features a parachute or a similar innovative solution to allow soft recovery of an artillery round carrying precision guidance components.

DESCRIPTION: A base deployed

soft recovery module will accelerate and enhance the process of developing and gun hardening (ruggedizing to achieve gun launch survivability) delicate and complex electronic and mechanical components. This process is critical to the reliability required of precision-guided artillery projectiles. The gun-hardened parts and subassemblies featured in precision artillery projectiles include canard assemblies, guidance navigation & control units, inertial measurement units, telemetry systems, batteries, onboard recorders, and other electronic components and devices.

Component test modules typically replace the warhead assembly of the projectile. The projectile is otherwise configured with the objective components and assemblies, allowing for a fullup, ballistically similar operational function when fired from an objective artillery platform. At a user designated time, after the objective functions have been executed, the module initiates the DDO&S (Decelerate, Despin, Orient and Stabilize) soft recovery assembly to allow the projectile to descend nose first until impact with the ground. The parachute assembly will likely need multiple stages and timing mechanisms to accomplish the required impact conditions. The impact under the parachute is significantly less than that experienced at gun launch and would not damage or affect the integrity of the components or the system upon impact.

If the proposed device becomes readily available, reliable, and inexpensive, it will significantly reduce cost and shorten the development of complex artillery munitions. No other means exists to gun fire and recover parts and components in this fashion.

The cost objective is a production unit cost of under $25,000.

PHASE I: Phase I will conclude with a detailed written report including the following: requirements definition, at least two (2) complete and detailed design concepts; preliminary operational, structural, gas dynamics and aeroballistic or other necessary analyses; a trade/optimization study; a production cost study and downselect criteria for Phase II.

PHASE II: Build prototypes, test fire, and downselect baseline design.