LIQUID CRYSTAL POLYMER CRYO COMPOSITE TANK

SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT REDUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT IN THERMAL MANAGEMENT CAN BE ACHIEVED IN CRYOGENIC TANK SYSTEMS THROUGH THE EXTENSIVE USE OF LIQUID CRYSTAL POLYMER (LCP) MATERIALS. SUCH A SYSTEM WILL BE DESIGNED IN THE PHASE I PROGRAM BASED ON OUR EIGHT YEAR EXPERIENCE IN PROCESS AND APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT IN BOTH LYOTROPIC AND THERMOTROPIC LCP MATERIALS. OUR DESIGN WILL INTEGRATE THE USE OF A NEW IMPERMEABLE LCP LINER MATERIAL, LOW THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY LCP FITTINGS AND STRUTS, AND A NEW HIGH STRENGTH DAMAGE RESISTANT LCP FIBER OVERWRAP. KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF FABRICATING THE LCP CRYOGENIC TANK SYSTEM IN PHASE II WILL BE A DESIGN BASED ON DEMONSTRATED AND PROVEN FABRICATION AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES FOR ALL COMPONENTS IN THE SYSTEM. OUR EXPERIENCE ENCOMPASSES ALL OF THE REQUIRED PROCESSING AND FABRICATION TECHNOLOGIES WITH THE EXCEPTION OF FORMING A SEAMLESS LYOTROPIC LCP TANK LINER OR DIAPHRAGM. ACCORDINGLY, THE PROPOSED PHASE I PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE A DEMONSTRATION OF A NEW INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO FORMING THIS COMPLEX SHAPE WITH POLYBENZOXAZOLE (PBO) FILM. WITH THIS PROCESS DEMONSTRATION WE CAN CONFIDENTLY DO A REALISTIC COST, WEIGHT, AND MISSION PROFILE ANALYSIS OF THE PHASE I DESIGN AND DELIVER IT AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM. THE DETAIL CRYOGENIC TANK SYSTEM DESIGN ALONG WITH THIS ANALYSIS AND THE CONFIDENCE GAINED WITH THE PCO COMPLEX SHAPE PROCESS DEMONSTRATION, ALL ACCOMPLISHED IN PHASE I, WILL ASSURE A SOUND PHASE II PROGRAM FOR THE FABRICATION AND TEST OF A PROTOTYPE SYSTEM.