Function-Oriented Reactive Structure Design with Smart Materials for Army’s Future Ground Vehicles

The objective of the proposed SBIR program is to develop a new and general design methodology for laying out innovative composite structures with imbedded sensing and actuation capabilities, which can be used in Army’s future ground vehicles programs for improving structural performance and multi-functionality. Innovative active/reactive structure concepts will be direct outcomes of the new design methodology developed to cover a wide range of different applications, including vibration and noise control, damage detection, and ballistic and blast protections. A wide range of active and reactive materials, such as piezoelectric materials and shape memory alloys, can be used in the design process. Major focuses in the proposed research include: 1) develop a new and advanced design process for optimally distributing active/reactive material(s) in a reactive structural system, such as in a noise-suppressing structure or a non-explosive reactive armor, 2) develop a new design technique for the optimal mechanism design that can be used in a specific reactive structure. With the new design methodology developed, innovative reactive structure concepts, which may never existed before, can be developed, which may result in a wide range of potential applications.