Wide Span Air Beam

The primary purpose of Wide Span Air Beams (WSAB) is to support a shelter that can be deployed very quickly. The primary limiting factor of a WSAB is the available fiber strength. To take full advantage of this strength the successful design needs to optimize beam diameter, inflation pressure and geometry. The relationships are complex but well understood. The high stress on the inside arch diameter (ID) of the WSAB curvature needs to be dissipated over a wide section to increase load sharing. It is not enough to simply design a successful WSAB design without the tools to reduce the design to practice. Keeping as many design options available until preliminary numerical analysis can be validated experimentally will result in the shortest path to successful implementation of WSAB structures. Developing the tools for implementing as many WSAB design options as possible is the opportunity of this SBIR. Wide span structures supported by metal or fiber reinforced rigid composite trussed beams and rafters have been thoroughly analyzed, understood, tested and are commercially available. Mimicking this well established support structure with WSAB principles will increase the likelihood of a structurally sound WSAB. Iterating between experimental and numerical analysis will reduce the time and resource expenditure for a successful WSAB implementation. Temporary support structures to shelter personnel and equipment is the primary application. Eventually, wide span fixed wing shelters will be built this way with minimum labor. Ammunition barricades, rapid vehicle and personal obstacles, blast shelters, helmets, parabolic antennas, water and fuel containers, offshore mobile bases, large para-gliders, aerostats, inflatable water crafts, decoys, skin fabric for seamless tents, skin fabric for large tents, inflated bridges, air bags for heavy load air drop, and ballistic protection.