COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR COMMUNICATION SHELTERS

A MODIFIED COMMUNICATIONS SHELTER IS PROPOSED THAT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO DETECT BY STANDARD MEANS. IT WILL HAVE LOW RADAR CROSS SECTION (RCS), CONTROLLED INFRARED (IR) SIGNATURE, LOW VISIBILITY AND WILL MEET APPLICATIONS FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC SHEILDING. THE SHELTER WILL SATIFY STANDARD ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR WEATHER WORTHINESS, ETC., BUT ALSO WILL SURVIVE CERTAIN WEAPONS EFFECTS SUCH AS ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP), NUCLEAR BLAST OVERPRESSURE AND SMALL ARMS PROJECTILES. THIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WILL ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF OPTIMIZING AS MANY OF THESE DESIRABLE PROPERTIES AS POSSIBLE SIMULTANEOUSLY. FOR EXAMPLE, LOW RCS REQUIRES EXTENSIVE USE OF LOW DIELECTRIC CONSTANT MATERIALS; MATERIALS WITH LOW DIELECTRIC CONTANTS ARE LIGHTWEIGHT BUT ARE ORDINARILY STRUCTURALLY UNSOUND (E.G. FOAM). THIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORT WILL OPTIMIZE BOTH STRUCTURAL AND LOW RCS REQUIREMENTS AT THE SAME TIME. SOME OTHER PROPERTIES THAT REQUIRE TRADEOFF OPTIMIZATION INCLUDE: LOW IR EMISSIVITY AND MINIMUM RCS; MINIMUM WEIGHT AND MAXIMUM PROJECTILE PENETRATION RESISTANCE; AND, MINIMUM RCS FROM SHAPING AND MAXIUM USEABLE INTERIOR SPACE.