Techniques For Radiation Hardening of EKV Through Incorporation of Shielding In Component Structures Fabricated From Be/Be Alloy Substitute Materials

Future Exoatmospheric Interceptor Kill Vehicle (EKV) system upgrades and Kinetic Energy Interceptors (KEI) are expected to require nuclear radiation hardening of electro-optics subsystems. Alternative approaches include hardening of individual electronic components or external shielding of the subsystem using the structural elements. High atomic number materials, such as gold, tantalum, tungsten or steel, are candidates for structural radiation shielding. A lightweight, low cost, producible structural radiation shielding approach is needed to address this EKV and KEI nuclear radiation hardening issue. A low cost, producible composite manufacturing process with integral metallic foil liner materials and designs is an alternative lightweight and low cost approach. A program is proposed to develop and demonstrate a low cost, producible, lightweight composite structure with integral nuclear radiation shielding for EKV structures and electro-optic subsystem hardening using integrated graphite composites and metallic foil materials and design technologies (called "InteGraFoil", a trademark of Vanguard Composites). The foil will be a tantalum-aluminum hybrid material designed to gradual decrease radiation effects from nuclear events. The process for making these Metallic Intermetallic Laminates (MIL) foils has been patented by UCSD, our team partner for this project. The Phase I program will demonstrate feasibility of the InteGraFoil-MIL radiation shielding approach by integrating EKV composite structural components and radiation shielding metallic foils and fabricating test articles using the composite manufacturing processes and conducting subscale testing. In Phase II, the composite structure manufacturing process and InteGraFoil-MIL radiation shielding approach will be developed and demonstrated by fabrication of a full-size EKV composite structure and conduct of structural and simulated nuclear radiation ground tests demonstrating performance of the concept for representative EKV design environments.