Engineered Synthetic Replacement for Army Heavy Transport Trailer Wooden Decking and Flooring

For Army heavy trailer decking, the objective is to replace the baseline material, Apitong wood, with an engineered synthetic replacement which meets or exceeds the current material and which is more sustainable. Apitong, an increasingly rare and expensive wood, has a field service life of 8 years which if replaced with an engineered product capable of 25 years life expectancy could save the Army over $400 million across all trailers. In Phase I, Texas Research Institute Austin, Inc. (TRI Austin), will develop two to three design concepts and select a material(s) for decking on Army heavy trailers that is more sustainable than the baseline material, Apitong wood. TRI Austin believes the solution lies with fiberglass composite materials manufactured via the pultrusion process. Computational analysis, conducted by TRI Austin, will size a composite support structure to work in concert with a synthetic material suitable for outfitting (nails). TRI Austin will procure representative material for evaluation of the Army’s weathering and fire-resistant requirements, MIL-STD-810 and UL94-HB/MIL-PRF-32518, respectively.