Innovative Materials for the SQS-53C Sonar Dome (MSC P6033)

Legacy material systems that meet the insertion loss (IL) requirements of current acoustic windows have been shown to have difficulty meeting the structural and damage tolerance goals associated with U.S. Navy undersea operations. Newer tuned core sandwich concepts, while showing promise to improve overall reliability, are markedly more expensive than the simpler reinforced rubber domes. During the Phase I study, Materials Sciences Corporation (MSC), its manufacturing partner Seemann Composites Inc. (SCI) and Applied Physical Sciences Corporation, conducted design studies, performed panel tests and manufacturing engineering studies, and conducted acoustic analyses to establish the technical and cost feasibility of using a specialized fiber reinforced composite material to meet the structural and IL requirements of a SQS-53C sonar dome. The primary objective of the Phase II program is to reduce the risk of using the low-cost emerging sonar window material technology developed by MSC on future vessels such as CG(X), or as a back-fit (spares) option for DDG-51 Class vessels, by designing, manufacturing and delivering a full-scale segment of a sonar dome for evaluation.