Tough Reconfigurable Topside Shipbuilding Manufacturing Structure

Military and emergency civilian shelters are typically designed for mobile operations with relatively short set-up/strike cycles. Durability with minimal maintenance and logistical support are then essential. These characteristics also hold true for shipyard construction and environmental structures. However unlike military and civilian structures, topside shipyard structures must withstand grinding, hot work and day to day use in a manufacturing environment. In addition ship topside structures vary in geometric complexity, material and accessibility. The shelter system must also be designed to withstand high winds, ice and snow loads. KaZaK’s Phase I efforts will work with shipyards to define shelter requirements, then further refine/develop proposed innovations through analysis and scaled prototype models, while refining designs and full scale testing during Phase II. KaZaK will investigate a novel composite material construction in combination with a highly automated panel production process that has been used with great success in other structural design problems that required a balance between deployed stiffness, durability and low cost. Full scale Navy/shipyard prototype fabrication/assembly and shelter testing is anticipated by the end of Phase II.