Low Cost / Light Weight Pultruded Composite Structural Components

KaZaK Composites Incorporated specializes in high performance composite pultruded structures for military and commercial applications. KCI is currently fabricating the world's largest and most capable pultrusion machine. This equipment is being specifically designed to pultrude very large floor, roof and side wall composite stiffened panels (maximum width >10 feet) that will be assembled along with other pultruded components into an 8x8x20 foot ISO shelter. This work is being conducted as part of an Air Force Phase II SBIR. This experience, along with other high performance development efforts conducted by the company, make KCI an ideal candidate for demonstrating the aircraft panel pultrusion technology solicited by the Navy. KCI will be supported by Northrop Grumman Corporation. NGC will provide the program team with the benefit of their extensive experience in composite Naval aircraft design and fabrication. During Phase I, KCI and NGC will identify several aircraft components appropriate for pultrusion fabrication. Several of these parts will then be redesigned as equivalent parts tailored for pultrusion processing. Cost and weight of pultrudable designs will be compared to baseline, conventionally-fabricated composite parts. Simple demonstration pultrusion runs will be made. Pultruded samples will be tested in the Option Phase.