Advanced Structural Development of a Deployable Cargo Deck Covering System

The Landing Craft Air Cushion and future connectors like the Joint Maritime Assault Connector need to have a cargo deck cover to protect the fan blades from Foreign Object Damage, to protect the equipment on the deck from the salt and sand spray, and to make the deck habitable for transporting warfighters while under operation. TRI/Austin’s engineering staff will perform material and manufacturing process surveys, and produce a lightweight, low costs, durable, composite cargo deck covering system designs that will meet the LCAC requirements. Finite element analyses will be performed to ensure that the cargo deck covering system meets all structural performance requirements. TRI/Austin will develop a comprehensive validation plan for the new deck covering system, which will outline and describe the appropriate test methods, required test specimens, test parameters, and metrics for pass/fail. An economic analysis will be performed to estimate the production costs. A prototype section of the new cargo deck covering system design will be fabricated, tested and assembled. The prototype deck covering components will be evaluated against key performance parameters through a series of preliminary structural tests.