COMPOSITE MATERIALS GUIDANCE FOR SUBMARINE

COMPOSITE MATERIALS OFFER A WIDE RANGE OF ATTRIBUTED THAT CAN IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE AND REDUCE THE COST OF NEW SUBMARINES. COMPOSITES HAVE NOT YET BEEN USED EXTENSIVELY IN SUBMARINES BECAUSE THERE IS LITTLE EXPERIENCE IN THE SUBMARINE ENGINEERING COMMUNITY ON WHICH TO BASE COMPONENT DESIGN. COMPOSITES, UNLIKE METALS, HAVE A VERY LIMITED BODY OF DESIGN GUIDANCE SPECIFICALLY ORIENTED TO SUBMARINE APPLICATIONS. THE WORK PROPOSED SELECTS FROM THE WIDE RANGE OF AVAILABLE A GROUP THAT OFFERS THE STRENGTH, STIFFNESS, TOUGHNESS, HIGH TEMPERATURE STABILITY, LOW FLAMMABILITY, LIMITED OUTGASSING, AND LOW ABSORBTIVITY THAT ARE NECESSARY FOR SUBMARINE STRUCTURES. COMPOSITE MATERIAL SYSTEM CANDIDATES ARE SELECTED FROM MATRIX AND FIBER COMBINATIONS THAT HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL HISTORY IN STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS. A SET OF DESIGN PARAMETERS ARE SET FORTH FOR THESE MATERIALS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE SELECTION METHODS USED CURRENTLY FOR METALS. THESE DESIGN PARAMETERS ARE FORMULATED FROM ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND DAMAGE SCENARIOS THAT ARE POSTULATED AS REPRESENTATIVE OF SUBMARINE STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS. THE NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES OF COMPOSITES ARE SIMILARLY OVERCOME BY DESIGN PARAMETERS THAT GUIDE THE SELECTION OF ADDITIVIES, MATRIX TOUGHENERS AND FIBER ORIENTATIONS THAT ALLOW COMPOSITES TO RESIST FIRE, IMPACT DAMAGE, AND ABRASION.