Integrated System for AAAV Seals

Cornerstone Research Group Inc. (CRG) proposes to design and evaluate the components of an integrated seal design. Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAAV) have multiple armor and hatch seals. The primary function of these seals is to ensure watertightintegrity and EMI protection. The current sealing system design uses two independent seals to simultaneously achieve the necessary level of EMI protection and watertight integrity. Integration these the two seals into one seal would simplify the sealinstallation and removal procedure while improving critical physical and materials properties. In addition to the materials and geometric design of the integrated seal, other components of the sealing system should be evaluated. By designing andevaluating the system as a whole, rather than improving each component individually, a new system design can exceed the performance of system that was designed as individual components. The integrated seal system that will be designed and evaluated inthis program offers improved EMI protection and watertight integrity in one integrated sealing system. The components of this system, which individually and collectively must meet these stringent properties, will exhibit increased electrical conductivityand increased resistance to environmental exposure. The development of materials with these improved properties, could lead to commercialization of the both the seal system as a whole, or to the commercialization of each component independently.