|
Composites center receives naval research funding
A new contract, worth up to $150 million, calls for lighter, less
expensive military technology from the Composites Manufacturing
Technology Center (CMTC), which is affiliated with Clemson University
and operated by South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA).
The SCRA and Applied Research and Development Institute (ARDI),
located in the Clemson Research Park, have signed the contract funded
by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) that calls for an additional
five years of service to the Navy. The contract requires advanced
materials and manufacturing technologies development and technology
transfer. The new technology will improve modern military aircraft,
ships, submarines, land vehicles and associated weapons and missiles.
The SCRA will administer the contract through ARDI at Clemson, an
organization that manages solutions for materials and technology
between industries, universities and government agencies. The partnership
moves Clemson University research to the marketplace.
“Every weapon system we own today is overweight,” said
Henry Watson (B.S. ME ’61), Clemson faculty member, ARDI director
and SCRA vice president. “This contract will allow ARDI to
address these issues of excessive weight and cost while improving
performance.”
ARDI also is working with Clemson faculty to develop new coating
technology for Army tanks enabling them to blend into the background
like a chameleon. ARDI has received $1.75 million in the 2006 federal
defense appropriations bill to support this effort. Another $1.75
million is earmarked for developing advanced packaging and nutritional
quality for food for soldiers. The packaging technology will reduce
weight and cost without sacrificing quality.
Clemson’s Composites Manufacturing
Technology Center (CMTC), earned the 2005 Defense Manufacturing
Technology (ManTech) Achievement Award from the U.S. Office of Naval
Research. The award recognizes the composite-to-steel joint development
for the next generation Navy destroyer known as DD(X). This state-of-the-art
ship features an all-composite deckhouse joined to a steel hull
with adhesive rather than traditional bolts. The revolutionary bonded
joint technology improves performance and increases survivability
while reducing costs and weight.
|
