Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing for Naval Transducer Development

In a successful Phase I SBIR research effort the team of Solidica, Inc., Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation-Advanced Acoustics Sector (NASC-AAS), and Fabrisonic LLC identified opportunities for both 41% cost savings and +3 to +4 dB performance improvement in a slotted cylinder projector (SCP) suitable for use in a AN/SSQ-125 sonobuoy, as well as opportunities for additional cost savings and performance improvement in other SCP projectors.The three most significant SCP cost drivers identified were:Hand labor to assemble the ceramic array into the SCP shell,Cost of ceramics, andCost of the aluminum SCP shell.Performance improvement for the SCP projector will be accomplished by pre-loading the projector such that the ceramic elements are in compression.The teams Phase II SBIR development plan is to design, develop, and fabricate, and analyze the costs of a low cost, high performance slotted cylinder projector for the AN/SSQ-125 sonobuoy utilizing Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing. In the Phase II Option the team will test the prototypes internally and at the Navy's Seneca Lake sonar test facility, document and validate the transducer performance, costs, and best practices.