Conformable Lightweight Pultruded Toughened Composite LCAC Ramps

KaZaK Composites will work with MacGregor Group, a leading fabricator of marine ramps, to develop new, lightweight, damage resistant composite bow and stern ramps for LCAC. In Phase I we will evaluate competing concepts for composite ramps that are stiff in the ship-to-shore direction, support bending loads with minimal deflection, and simultaneously are torsionally compliant in the athwart-ship direction, allowing the ramp to conform to ground irregularities. The redesigned ramps will not impact LCAC operations or require costly hovercraft modifications. Ramp designs will be optimized for pultrusion fabrication to minimize cost. KCI operates 10-foot wide pultrusion equipment, and has been involved with numerous Navy programs demonstrating application of pultruded composites to low cost, low maintenance, high performance ship structures and systems. VARTM technology will be used as appropriate to supplement pultrusion in ramp fabrication. Full scale prototypes of key composite structures will be built and tested during Phase I to verify design assumptions and FEA predictions. Weight, cost and damage resistance will be projected, and a comparison made to the current aluminum ramp configuration. The next generation ramp will reduce weight by up to 25%, eliminate corrosion, be extremely damage resistant, and provide other advanced design and performance features.