Rapid Assembly, Energy Efficient Composite Shelter

CSSI will develop an innovative rapid assembly, energy efficient composite shelter. The CSSI team combines pioneering efforts in snap-joints for composites with many decades of “cradle to grave” shelter experience. The team proposes to apply “out of the box thinking” and embrace manufacturability issues in order to create innovative shelter designs which weigh less and cost less than current aluminum shelters while meeting all operational DoD standards. Both the ISO basic mobile facility and the knockdown ISO will be reviewed during Phase I. The shelters will be designed for pultrusion in order to automate the manufacturing labor. An innovative type of snap-joint has the potential for creating a paradigm shift in the way shelters are being assembled, and handled in the field and at the depot level. Panels could be swapped quickly, with virtually no tooling, to accommodate configuration, mission, and/ or system changes. The vertical post of the basic ISO will be designed entirely in composite materials in order to meet the 190,000 lbs, single post, load transfer requirement. The projected life of the composite container is at least 30 years, as opposed to 20 years for current aluminum shelters. The deliverable at the end of Phase I will include the summary of the trade studies, the design concept evolutions and the analysis performed to determine feasibility. Also presented for review will be entirely new and very innovative snap-joint prototypes and applicable test/ analysis data. BENEFIT: This proposal effort is to develop technology that fits the more demanding requirements of a military application first, then providing a more robust commercially viable technology as a natural outgrowth. CSSI’s proposed shelter program will demonstrate a substantial costs savings in acquisition and operation of DoD shelters. Many aspects of this project have unique spin-off potential into the commercial ISO container market, pre-fabricated housing, and emergency housing. An important technology accelerator, besides the snap-joints, is the ability to monitor tampering of the composite box with fiber optics which are pultruded in place. This would help combat the $30B to $50B/ year container crime.