Rolling Door Seal (RDS)

HMC’s Rolling Door Seal (RDS) is comprised of a hollow elastomer boot having a geometry that allows it to roll into place beneath the helo-bay door to form a wide and reliable liquid seal without the application of excessive compressive or bending stress and subsequent mechanical strain related damage and failure. This functionality is facilitated by the design of the RDS boot, which enables it to simultaneously roll along the deck plate while elastically deforming into a liquid tight seal once the helo-bay door is in its closed position. HMC’s performance analysis of the RDS-III prototype fabricated during Phase I work validated that it facilitates an effective liquid tight seal while practically eliminating the bending and compressive stresses that cause rapid failure of the currently deployed helo-bay door seal. During its Phase II work, HMC will perform Rolling Door Seal (RDS) mechanical and materials engineering, RDS prototype fabrication, RDS prototype testing and performance analysis, and RDS design and materials optimization. The objective of this work is to deliver to U.S. Navy a mature Phase II RDS prototype capable of reliably forming a liquid tight seal beneath the DDG helo-bay door over the course of at least 4,800 door actuation cycles. Additionally, HMC will design, develop and produce all tooling and molds necessary for the production of those intermediate and final RDS prototypes. Importantly, HMC will conduct these development activities in an incremental manner that facilitates iterative optimization of each prototype produced and the materials used to fabricate those prototypes. Using this approach, HMC will successfully deliver to U.S. Navy an end-of-Phase II RDS product that has been performance validated through comprehensive testing to satisfy all U.S. Navy material, performance, and longevity specifications at a per unit cost that generates substantial return on investment (ROI). During Phase II work, HMC will perform RDS mechanical and materials engineering, prototype fabrication, prototype testing and performance analysis, and RDS design and materials optimization. The objective of this work is to deliver to U.S. Navy a mature Phase II RDS prototype capable of reliably forming a liquid tight seal beneath the DDG helo-bay door over the course of at least 4,800 door actuation cycles. HMC will design, develop and produce all tooling and molds necessary for the production of those intermediate and final RDS prototypes. Importantly, HMC will conduct these development activities in an incremental manner that facilitates iterative optimization of each prototype produced and the materials used to fabricate those prototypes. Using this approach, HMC will successfully deliver to U.S. Navy an end-of-Phase II RDS that has been performance validated through comprehensive testing to satisfy all U.S. Navy material, performance, and longevity specifications at a per unit cost that provides substantial return on investment (ROI).