High temperature multifunctional core material for lightweight sciences corporation

Cored fiberglass composites are currently being used as structural materials on several Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) programs. They are also viable candidates for new designs for the LPD class and DD21 surface ship platforms. The challenge imposed upon these material systems is that not only must they be superior monolithic metal counterparts in structure, they are additionally required to provide enhanced warfighting capability through greater environmental durability, superior radar cross-section (RCS) performance and adherence to MIL-STD-2301 and UL 1709 fire, smoke and toxicity (FST) specifications. Syntactic core materials are well known for being lightweight, relatively strong, and extremely fire resistant. Additional advantages of high dimensional stability, low water absorption and advantageous electrical properties warrant the application of these materials to topside composite designs. This proposal details an approach, using the Integrated Product Team (IPT) philosophy to develop and integrate a multifunctional core material for use in Naval application. This team will enable this program to not only develop a multifunctional core that meets the requirements of this solicitation, but provide the expertise and experience of previous lessons learned for integrating the resulting composite product into emerging Naval applications.