Propulsor Blade Advanced Composite Materials

The U.S. Navy has significant interest in the development of composite materials which substantially improve the performance of composite propulsor blades. Improvements in erosion resistance (e.g., cavitation, rain, and sand) and impact durability are of particular interest. These improvements must be enabled without degrading other performance characteristics including vibration damping and mechanical properties. Furthermore, these performance improvements must come at a reduced cost including acquisition, fabrication, and maintenance. Composite Technology Development (CTD) proposes a multidisciplinary approach to develop and qualify new classes of composite materials for propulsor blades which possess significant erosion resistant and impact durable characteristics. These materials will be based on new and existing chemistries which have demonstrated significant promise in achieving the program’s goals. CTD will work with key industry partners to demonstrate the material’s applicability to propulsor blades by adopting an iterative design approach to be performed in tandem with the material development and evaluation efforts to produce a propulsor design incorporating the developed technology, which demonstrates significant performance improvements over existing propulsor blades.