SBIR-STTR Award

Advanced Transparent Armor Materials and Manufacturing Methods
Award last edited on: 1/18/2018

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
DOD : SOCOM
Total Award Amount
$658,933
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
SOCOM14-002
Principal Investigator
Jeffrey Kutsch

Company Information

Technology Assessment & Transfer Inc (AKA: Wear Sciences Inc~TA&T~Ceramic Composites Inc~Transfer Inc)

133 Defense Highway Unit 212
Annapolis, MD 21401
   (410) 224-3710
   info@techassess.com
   www.techassess.com
Location: Multiple
Congr. District: 03
County: Anne Arundel

Phase I

Contract Number: ----------
Start Date: ----    Completed: ----
Phase I year
2014
Phase I Amount
$149,912
The expanding use of traditional transparent armor (TA) windows in smaller and lighter vehicles to enhance warfighter safety highlights the necessity to find lighter weight solutions to minimize vehicle performance degradation. While ultra lightweight TA solutions are available using a transparent polycrystalline material such as Spinel, the cost benefit is not easily realized on many smaller platforms. A new transparent armor solution capable of decreasing the solution weight by 25% while maintaining the ballistic performance can be achieved using one of two methods. The first method employs the use of advanced polymeric backing material to replace pieces of soda lime glass. The second method uses an advanced transparent glass ceramic strikeface material to decrease the amount of soda lime glass in the final solution. Both methods are capable of achieving the performance requirements no more than 2x the cost of current TA. TA & T will fabricate and test two separate TA solutions to determine the best material. Selection criteria will be based on a cost/performance comparison of the tested systems.

Keywords:
Armor, transparent, glass ceramic, aliphatic polyurethane, lamination, lightweight, low cost, ground mobility vehicle

Phase II

Contract Number: ----------
Start Date: ----    Completed: ----
Phase II year
2016
Phase II Amount
$509,021
Transparent armor (TA) systems represent a substantial portion of the armor weight allocation for many ground vehicle platforms, and weigh substantially more than opaque ceramic solutions designed for the same threat. Lighter-weight transparent armor solutions that maintain or improve on the ballistic capability compared to current generation recipes can offer mission performance, acquisition and life cycle cost benefits. The objective of this Phase II project is to fully develop and test an innovative lightweight transparent armor system that has equivalent performance to the baseline solution but is 25% lighter and cost less than 2x the baseline price. The new armor system will be a direct drop-in replacement solution for the baseline ballistic glass TA armor. TA&T and its partner, SBG, propose to demonstrate the performance and manufacturability of the new lightweight armor system at a TRL > 7 and an MRL = 9. The new armor system will be tested against all ATPD 2352 Rev T First requirements with a predetermined threat to reach a qualified status by the end of the contract. The TA recipe will also be demonstrated and tested in a curved 33 in x 17 in window format with an 63in. radius of curvature.