Geometry- and Performance-Tailored Composites for Advanced Sabots (1001-192)

Triton Systems Inc., in collaboration with BAE Systems and Specialty Materials Inc. of Lowell MA, proposes to develop an extremely lightweight Boron composite sabot for hypervelocity Navy fire support projectiles, in order to substantially reduce parasitic mass and improve projectile accuracy, thus improving overall projectile effectiveness. The proposed sabot consists of three major elements: • An inner, segmented conical frustum, conformal with the sharp cone projectile, and fabricated from Boron/Epoxy composite. • Forward and aft bore riders, fabricated of a Boron/Epoxy composite or a hybrid Boron-Graphite/Epoxy composite. While tradeoffs are planned during the Phase I to optimize the selection of materials, the Boron/Epoxy composites from Specialty Materials Inc. show weight specific compression strengths nearly 10 times those of high strength Aluminum and Titanium alloys and 70% higher than corresponding graphite/epoxy composites. During the Phase I, Triton will identify and trade-off promising sabot construction materials and architectures, selecting both an optimum configuration and manufacturing method. Trial components will be fabricated of simplified geometry and subjected to both static compression tests and gun launch environments. During the Option Phase the sabot system configuration will be updated based upon Phase I testing results, and more representative pre-prototype models fabricated for delivery to NSWCD-D.