THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF A CONCEPT TO DESIGN AND BUILD A SPECIAL PURPOSE MACHINE THAT WILL HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF FILLING AND SECURELY CLOSING AT LEAST 600 SANDBAGS PER HOUR.

THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF A CONCEPT TO DESIGN AND BUILD A SPECIAL PURPOSE MACHINE THAT WILL HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF FILLING AND SECURELY CLOSING AT LEAST 600 SANDBAGS PER HOUR. THE MACHINE WILL BE MOTOR OPERATED, OPERABLE BY ONE PERSON IN A COMBAT ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORTED BY A TACTICAL VEHICLE. THE BENEFITS FROM SUCH A DEVICE WOULD INDIRECTLY BE THE PROTECTION OF PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT IN A COMBAT ENVIRONMENT. THE CONSTRUCTION SPEED WHEN BUILDING FIELD FORTIFICATIONS, PERSONNEL SHELTERS, AMMUNITION BUNKERS AND GUN EMPLACEMENTS, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL ENTAIL A CAREFUL EVALUATION OF THE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT, POTENTIAL CONTENT VARIATIONS OF THE ON-SITE MATERIAL, ETC., PRIOR TO DEVELOPING A DETAILED SET OF DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS AND OPERATING REQUIREMENTS. THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN CONCEPT IS COMPARED TO THE SPECIFICATION, AND THE STATE-OFTHE-ART IN SOIL HANDLING TECHNOLOGY. A DESIGN RISK AND FIELD RELIABILITY ASSESSMENT IS MADE AS A PART OF THE SYSTEM EVALUATION. AN ENGINEERING MODEL COULD BE MADE TO DEMONSTRATE CRITICAL SUBASSEMBLIES BEFORE ADVANCING TO PHASE II. THE POSSIBLE COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS ARE SIGNIFICANT; ESPECIALLY IN THOSE GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS THAT ARE SUBJECTED TO SEASONAL FLOOD CONTROL PROBLEMS.