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Post-IED Hull Inspection Tool
Navy SBIR 2012.3 - Topic N123-156 MARCOR - Mr. Paul Lambert - [email protected] Opens: August 27, 2012 - Closes: September 26, 2012 N123-156 TITLE: Post-IED Hull Inspection Tool TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles, Materials/Processes ACQUISITION PROGRAM: ALL GROUND VEHICLES OBJECTIVE: The objective is to provide post IED inspection tool(s) that can assess structural damage to combat vehicles by forward deployed Marines. DESCRIPTION: A capability gap exists in non-destructive testing of vehicle hulls in Forward Operating Bases (FOB) and combat outposts. Forward-deployed Marines are dependent on visual inspection of hulls to evaluate damage following IED events. The visual inspection is conducted road-side using a flashlight often lying face-up under a vehicle that still has Chemical Agent Resistant Coating (CARC) paint on the damaged area. The vehicle is fully assembled with minimal disassembly executed for visual inspection. The visual inspection results in a recommendation to either continue operations or send the vehicle for higher echelon repair. The toolset will be used to identify various types of hull deficiencies including full or partial cracks, work hardening, stress fractures, and material mechanical properties. Many vehicles that could be returned to service are currently scrapped or sent to a Depot because of the inability to accurately assess damage. Vehicles that are returned to service are likely to be involved in subsequent IED attack(s) posing significant safety risk to the Operators if damaged areas are not identified and repaired. This can lead to a shortage of available vehicles in theater. It also results in high costs from unnecessary transportation, Depot repairs and premature washout. The Post-IED Hull Inspection Tool will be used under field conditions. The toolset will provide a go/no-go decision to return a vehicle to maintenance or continue to conduct operations. The toolset shall have the ability to be deployed on mobile equipment used by the Marine Corps as well as housed on industrial shop floors such as depots and maintenance facilities CONUS and OCONUS. The Marine Corps needs a Post-IED Hull Inspection Tool to support combat vehicle survivability inspection and analyses. This device will provide physical data on blasted hulls to conduct a Battle Damage Assessment and Repair (BDAR) analysis. Inspection and repair standards and procedures need to be developed to keep USMC vehicles in operation when damage has not exceeded thresholds that would make the vehicle unsafe. The toolset will be used roadside by Marine Corps operators and maintainers in adverse conditions such as lying face-up under vehicles with minimal lighting available. The system proposed shall be a standalone system with its own power supply or have the ability to interface with NATO slave power receptacle. It shall be used to determine armor and hull degradation levels by identifying hull deficiencies and anomalies on CARC painted surfaces. The Post IED Hull Inspection tool shall be able to identify these deficiencies on USMC fielded vehicles currently operating in theater. The focus of the effort shall be underbelly and side-wall inspection following IED events resulting in the identification of armor deficiencies and degradation. PHASE I: The contractor shall identify various types of post-blast hull deficiencies and technologies that can adequately identify deficiencies in a field environment. The contractor will propose a combination of commercially available inspection tools and new tools that would be required to conduct a Battle Damage Assessment and Repair (BDAR) inspection. The tool set will be presented to the government in a design review. The contractor will propose a plan for the development and testing of the tools to be conducted in Phase II. PHASE II: The contractor will develop the tools proposed in Phase I and demonstrate their effectiveness through a series of lab tests. The contractor will provide a complete set of tools for acceptance. These tools will be demonstrated in a field environment and their accuracy will be assessed through a series of designed blast experiments. The Government shall supply vehicles with blast damage to evaluate effectiveness of the proposed tool. PHASE III: The developed tools would be procured by PM's and maintainers to conduct BDAR in the field. PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The systems can also be sold to maintainers of On Road trucks and Construction Equipment to assess material damage from impact and fatigue. REFERENCES: 2. "Vulnerability/Lethality Modeling of Armored Combat Vehicles", (Aberdeen proving Ground) Baker, William E.; Smith, Jill H.; Winner, Wendy A. 3. "DAMAGE ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTED ARMOR VIA 3-D X-RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY", (Aberdeen Proving Ground), Joseph M. Wells KEYWORDS: Battle Damage Assessment and Repair (BDAR); Materials; Non Destructive Inspection; Weld Repair; Blast Modelling; Fatigue
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