Novel Towed Array Hose Materials Technology

Kazak Composites and our subcontractor ITT propose to advance the design of towed array hose by means of engineered materials and KaZaK’s expertise in pultrusion technology. The materials and designs to be developed will have synergistic effects on both buoyancy and strumming suppression. Buoyancy will be improved by adding new high-strength microspheres which also will prevent noise due to collapse. Strumming will be addressed by investigating several approaches, including a specially designed conformal layer not increasing the straight line drag coefficient or interfering with the array handling gear. This approach permits use of stochastic techniques in design, to prevent formation of coherent wake structures at several scales. An alternative approach is the use of negative Poisson ratio material to change the sectional shape of the hose in a turn. We also propose a novel reinforcement configured to prevent crimping of the hose cross-section under bending, as well as ‘milking’ of the hose under longitudinal drag forces, while maintaining desirable longitudinal strength and elongation characteristics. The scope of proposed Phase I work will cover materials trade studies and analysis of designs, as well as static and tunnel tests of representative elements. The outlook for a Phase II is a full-scale prototype.