Unmanned Surface Vessel: Manufacturing Technology Support
Abstract
There are three main objectives of this program: to develop structural materials and advanced manufacturing processes to incorporate structural foam into maritime structures including unmanned surface vessels (USVs); to investigate, develop, and mature advanced manufacturing methods for the efficient incorporation of long fiber reinforcement into maritime structures; and to design, test, and evaluate a composite maritime structure which combines a degree of structural foam and long fiber reinforcement with a primary emphasis on cost reduction.The first objective is to investigate and develop structural foaming technologies for vessel applications. Mechanical, chemical, physical, and plural component foaming systems may be considered. Integration of these foaming processes into existing manufacturing equipment may be developed. Materials and parts made using automated structural foaming will be characterized. Recommendations will be generated for the foaming processes investigated. Thesecond objective is to evaluate existing methods and develop a new method if necessary to incorporate long fiber reinforcement into thermoplastic vessel structures while consider design drivers like cost, weight, and build time. Existing processes will be considered and extended as applicable to address design drivers and manufacturing methods which are scalable that balance these design drivers may be incorporated into a robotic work cell for further development and demonstration. Software may be developed to enable efficient path planning and hardware may be modified to support new processing methods. The third objective is to design and test a maritime structure relevant to small vessels which incorporates a degree of structural foam and long fiber reinforcement within the structure as appropriate. Considerations will be made for tradeoff between cost, build time, and resulting mechanical performance. Existing design tools will be applied to predict structural behavior prior to evaluation. *Approved for Public Release*
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 13, 2024
- Source ID
- N000142412365
Entities
People
- Kyle Warren
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Maine System