Fire resistant Organic Composite Material

Composite structures are highly desirable for future Navy surface ships due primarily to their high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance and radar signature reduction potential. The recent National Research Council study on technology needs for the 21st century specifically cites the use of composite materails for signature reduction as a primary development recommendation for Navy platforms. However, flammability/smoke/toxicity (FST) concerns have long hindered the implementation of composite structures into Navy warships and commercial vessels. In the proposed Phase I program, Foster-Miller will use evaluation criteria developed in conjunction with out teaming partners Bath Iron Works and Techmatics to optimize cost effective approaches for producing organic matrix composites with significantly improved FST behavior. Phase I will include selection of the most promising material candidates for vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) as a cost effective, single fabrication step means for producing large Navy topside composite structures. The material approaches to be considered are the use of fire retardant additives, including instruments and nanocomposites, which can be successfully infused with the VARTM process. The ultimate goal of the work is to develop a low cost organic composite resin material (less than $10/lb) which can meet or compare favorably to the FST requirements of MIL-STD-2031.