Abrasion Resistant Low Friction Elastomeric Boot Materials for High Power Active Projectors

High power transducer boots must undergo one of the most stringent stress profiles of any underwater encapsulation. Added to the hydrostatic and vibratory fatigue stresses are the problems that come with moving frictional contact - abrasion and heating. Abrasion resistant materials are typically not heat resistant, and fatigue resistant materials are not good at sustaining heat, abrasion, and wear processes. The solution proposed is a multi-layer material built on a fatigue resistant base boot, with a heat or abrasion resistant liner impregnated with friction reducing additives. By using a dual or tri-material approach the benefits of the most resistant materials to a given stress type are combined into a single transducer boot. The challenge is to combine these in a way that maintains boot reliability - this means chemically bonding the laminates to insure an integral boot. Bonds between materials so diverse are difficult to achieve in a transducer environment, and strategies are outlined which should prove bonding feasibility in Phase I. Phase I will culminate with the installation of three prototype boots on scale slotted cylinder transducers. Phase I Option I takes the booted transducers to Lake Seneca, NY for a fully submerged endurance test to demonstrate boot life enhancement over current designs.