Commercialization of the GRAIL EXP Gene Discovery System

Not Available The towed arrays used by the U.S. Navy have no equal in acoustic performance. They are longer, have smaller diameters, can be towed faster, and have higher break point speeds than arrays towed by the rest of the world's Navies. But these superlatives are of no use if the array is unreliable and not working when needed. The proposed Phase I effort will evaluate five areas of known system design weaknesses, and develop innovative solutions that will increase the towed array robustness and reliability. The technology areas to be evaluated are: 1) the adaptation of solid filled seismic streamers to fleet tactical and/or surveillance arrays, 2) the inclusion of vibration isolation module (VIM) functions into the array tow cable so the unreliable features of the VIM can be eliminated, 3) the development of improved TB-16 hose wall strength member by substituting Vectran for Kevlar, 4) developing a thicker, more rugged, TB-29 hose wall, by improving the material matrix, assessing the benefits of bend limiters , and minimizing heavy internal components, and 5) developing a more flexible, elongated, stress-relieved, TB-29 E/M coupler. The results of these analytical studies will be to identify specific design improvements that will greatly increase array reliability, while in many cases reduce system costs.