Phase II year
2015
(last award dollars: 2021)
Phase II Amount
$1,459,918
To advance the Automated Warhead Characterization System (AWCS), an innovative yet practical technology solution for NAVAIR, MSI proposes to perform Phase II of the AWCS SBIR project. By providing expanded and enhanced data acquisition capability, significantly reduced turnaround time, and streamlined operation for the end user, MSIs AWCS technology will improve the current arena testing process significantly. Arena tests are performed to gain realistic knowledge of the unique damage mechanisms of different warheads, which are due to the synergistic blast and fragment effects that result when a warhead has been detonated. Arena test data of a broader scope yet with increased detail and sufficient accuracy, when applied effectively in an iterative warhead design process, will engender greater warhead efficacy and will reduce the collateral damage potential of the warheads. Once the AWCS technology has been developed appropriately and has been implemented, the advantages which will be gained over the present state-of-the-art in warhead characterization will lead to greater overall economy, higher throughput, and increased overall accuracy for the warhead characterizations which will be accomplished in the future.
Benefit: Because it will require considerably less time and less labor than the present technique, the accurate, automated, and more convenient method of performing warhead characterization tests which is provided by MSIs Automated Warhead Characterization System (AWCS) will reduce the data acquisition costs significantly. Lower costs and faster turnaround together will provide the user the opportunity to perform additional testing of the warheads, which will enrich the database of a given warheads characteristics. A more representative characterization of the warhead will enable iterations of the design to maximize its potency while minimizing battlefield collateral damage effects. Commercially, MSIs AWCS technology would be applied to record the responses of rotating machines during induced-failure tests, e.g. simulated bird strikes for aircraft propulsion turbines, and over-speed tests of steam or gas turbines, turbo-pumps, industrial fans, generators, and large motors. The accurate test data would contribute to the development of more robust rotating machinery, and to improvements in the containment structures which accompany some installations of these machines. Initially the potential customers would consist of the large rotating machinery OEMs and the commercial and military aircraft jet propulsion OEMs. For over-pressurization tests which are taken to destruction, the AWCS would be developed to record the failure responses of pressure containment structures that include industrial pressure vessels, turbomachinery casings, and the fuselages of aircraft, submersibles, and spacecraft. The test data would be applied to the improvement of the mathematical models and the failure theories which are used to predict the responses of the structures accurately, and also to the optimization of specific designs of such structures to minimize increases in the mass and volume while making them more robust and reliable. The list of potential customers for this application of the AWCS technology includes the turbomachinery OEMs, aircraft and spacecraft prime contractors, large defense contractors, private and Government research institutes, and large research universities. Also, the AWCS technology could be developed for laboratory-scale scientific applications, e.g. to record the dispersal of small particles or large droplets during experiments, or to record and analyze the local transient flight patterns of insect or avian species in response to various stimuli. Large companies, research institutes, Government research laboratories, and/ or universities in the U.S. and abroad, would comprise the potential customers for these applications of the AWCS technology. Internal DoD commercialization opportunities exist to support arena tests at different Government test ranges for the evaluation of warheads with a broad range of characteristics. The large U.S. ordnance manufacturers also would constitute potential customers of the AWCS, which would be applied to internal research and development and/ or the performance of arena testing services for the Government as a contractor.
Keywords: Automation, particle tracking, warhead characterization, arena test, Munitions
