Composite Case Technology for Penetrators/Perforators

Reinforced composite materials offer very high strength-to-density ratios, making them an ideal candidate for munition casings. Moreover, composites can be formed into geometries tailored to provide greater stiffness while maximizing internal volumes. A reinforcement layup technique that is ideally suited for composite bomb casings is braiding. The braiding technology has been proven a cost-effective method for producing cylindrical structures such as bomb casings. Braiding can accommodate complex geometries and is a process that is highly favorable in net-shape composite fabrication of cylindrical or toroidal geometries where seams are not desired. The proposed program will develop braided composite casings for penetrating munitions over a range of densities while maximizing strength and stiffness.