Large-scale Additive Manufacturing R&D to Advance Modular Shelter Design and Deployment

Shelter system technologies provide vital support to U.S. military personnel during in-theatre operations and peace-time continuity. Soldiers, logistics experts, and decision makers across the chain of command require shelter systems that perform in austere environments while also being cost-effective, resilient, durable, and easily maintained. For land-based conflicts in more remote locations and challenging environments such as the Arctic Circle or Saharan North Africa, expeditionary shelter systems offer less permanent accommodations yet can enhance mission speed and safety when coupled with improved energy savings and structural enhancements that yield minimal weight. Most existing systems lack the innovations required to maintain maximum mobility of the fighting force, while also ensuring high energy efficiency, sustainability, durability, and soldier protection. Compotech, in collaboration with its strategic partners, has developed key shelter system innovations that are practical and effective. Compotech works closely with Army subject matter experts (SMEs) who develop the requirements and specifications for panelized military shelters and our engineering team has the know-how to meet all the requirements. To date, Compotech has developed and fielded two versions of these panelized shelter systems. Compotech and the Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC) at the University of Maine (UMaine) are partnering on this SBIR to create a winning team that combines Compotech’s years of experience designing military shelters with ASCC’s latest bio-based additive manufacturing (AM) technology. UMaine's talented team of engineers and scientists has been researching bio-based composite materials for over 20 years and recently applied this technology to large scale AM. The UMaine team has successfully manufactured a vehicle mounted military shelter for the US Army, a logistics vessel for the US Marines, and an energy efficient bio-based home for the Department of Energy.  UMaine was selected as Compotech’s AM partner based on their extensive experience with bio-based materials along with their capability to design, manufacture, and test large additive structures. The goal is to advance AM materials and processes, along with innovative process-specific shelter designs, to facilitate 3D printing on site using locally derived, sustainable materials. Compotech’s team will print and test near-continuous full-scale beams, columns, and panels using the proven bio-based material produced using the ASCC’s BAAM printer. The BAAM printer rapidly deposits material at a rate of up to 100 lb/hr.  Producing components with the BAAM printer eliminates the need for expensive tooling to produce a shelter. The technology developed in this SBIR has the potential to revolutionize panelized shelter production and it will change how the military designs future shelters.