Develop Smart Material Technology for Improved Protection of Vehicles

The objective of the proposed SBIR program is to develop new concepts and design methodologies of smart materials for blast-protective structures that can be implemented on combat and light tactical vehicles for improved protection of crew and vehicles. The smart material technology considered in this research is defined as a new class of materials that can react to external excitations such as blast and ballistic impact in a designed way to counter such excitations and perform the desired action utilizing energy from the excitation. Based on their designs and imbedded sensing and actuation mechanisms, smart materials will be able to reconfigure so to mitigate the damaging effect of threat. Three major differences between the proposed new smart material and traditional smart materials are: 1) it acts in a reactive way without requiring an external energy supply; 2) it can be destroyed for energy absorption or other predefined purposes; and 3) its post-damage behavior plays an important role in its functionality. Innovative smart material concepts will be direct outcomes of the new design methodology developed to cover a wide range of different applications, including ballistic and blast protections and crashworthiness of vehicle structures.