PICO - A Small, Intermediate-Term Precision Time and Frequency Source for NAVSSI and LINK-16 Terminals

Shipboard sonar domes based upon steel fiber-reinforced rubber currently show unsatisfactory performance as a result of narrow operating frequency range, high acoustic insertion losses and corrosion of metal fibers. Foster-Miller proposes to combine andextend our successful hydrocarbon resin, PBO fiber,VARTM and acoustic window technologies to develop a new class of sonar dome that is low density (1.23g/cc), hydrophobic, structurally sound and acoustically transparent over a wider frequency range thancurrent sonar domes. Our low viscosity hydrocarbon resin will be VARTM-processed using low density (1.5g/cc), high performance PBO fiber preforms into a damage-tolerant, PBO fiber-reinforced, hydrocarbon resin sonar dome, called the Low Density Sonar Dome(LDSD), in one automated step. The LDSD will exceed the performance of current sonar windows, be lighter in weight and more economical. In Phase I, we will produce the LDSD and conduct acoustic testing to demonstrate feasibility. In Phase II, we willrefine the material and process, scale-up to larger, more complex composite test specimens and conduct extensive acoustic and mechanical testing to qualify the LDSD for use in Navy shipboard applications. Our team includes experts in PBO fiber composites,hydrocarbon resins, VARTM processing and acoustic testing and Raytheon. (P-01401)The Foster-Miller LDSD will provide the U.S. Navy and commercial shipping industry with a sonar dome that is lower in cost, more durable and broader in acoustic frequency range than current shipboard sonar domes. Commercial applications include shipboardsonar domes and windows as well as other acoustically transparent, water-resistant composite structures such as remote submersible vehicles.