Objective

Businesses must design, develop and demonstrate a high-throughput mechanical test platform capable of replicating extreme thermal-mechanical-chemical environments.

Description

The Department of Defense requires robust, high-temperature materials for a variety of extreme thermomechanical applications. This includes hypersonics, advanced propulsion and next-generation materials processing. These structures may experience transient thermomechanical loads while also in the presence of harsh chemical environments that may accelerate material degradation.

However, most current mechanical test practices cannot replicate relevant environments to inform material behaviors under extreme conditions. For example, there are two ASTM standards available for determining the flexure strength (ASTM C1211) and uniaxial tensile strength (ASTM C1366) of ceramics at elevated temperatures.

In general, elevated temperatures could be up to 1600 °C, which is well below the temperatures that ceramics may experience under extreme conditions, e.g. in hypersonic and advanced propulsion applications. Neither of these tests have high throughput and the test fixtures may not have the thermomechanical properties to survive more extreme conditions.

In turn, the Army requires new methodologies for quickly testing structural materials under relevant environments to accelerate materials development for extreme operating conditions. A variety of sub-scale, high-throughput experimental techniques have emerged as potential routes for quickly screening candidate materials. However, the Army needs more research to assess whether these approaches represent full-scale testing.

If successful, this effort would enable a novel characterization tool that could simulate the extreme operating environment needed to rapidly assess the next-generation materials expected to experience harsh thermal, mechanical and chemical loads.

Phase I

Businesses should identify a methodology and initiate fixture fabrication along with the associated hardware/software to perform high-throughput, high-temperature mechanical testing of materials. The specific methodology is not prescribed but must perform mechanical testing in relevant thermal environments.

The Army’s specific capabilities include the ability to rapidly vary and control the temperature of the sample while simultaneously performing mechanical characterization. The approach should incorporate automation where possible to enable rapid assessment (e.g., in sample preparation, sample loading, testing, and/or data analysis).

To maximize testing and data throughput, the concept must demonstrate at least a 10-fold improvement in the rate of experimentation over current manual high-temperature mechanical testing techniques. The vendor must tailor the method toward the research and development of next-generation structural materials for extreme environments, e.g. ultrahigh temperature ceramics, carbon-carbon composites and/or refractory metals. The concept must also outline an approach for assessing the accuracy of the method with respect to current testing standards (e.g. ASTM C1211 and C1366). Businesses should develop a Phase II plan.

Phase II

Vendors must design and develop a high-throughput, high-temperature mechanical test platform with the ability to rapidly vary and control environmental conditions as prescribed by the user. The company should validate the thermomechanical characterization method with conventional testing approaches.

In addition, performer should outline a plan for integrating atmospheric control and/or surface characterization methods to determine the sample degradation due to the thermal-mechanical-chemical environment, e.g. through modular fixtures that enable imaging and/or emission spectroscopy techniques.

The Army recommends the performer work with bulk material vendors/Original Equipment Manufacturers and/or high-temperature material testing agencies to facilitate transition for Phase III. The successful completion of Phase II shall include a demonstration to Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory scientists and engineers engaged in high-temperature testing of materials for extreme thermomechanical environments.

Phase III

The completion of this effort would provide an automated tool that receives, prepares, assesses and analyzes the high-temperature performance of materials in extreme thermal, mechanical and chemical environments in a way that accurately reflects the full-scale behaviors of the structures.

Phase III will transition high-throughput, high-temperature materials testing techniques to commercial suppliers through bulk material vendors, OEMs or other partnering agreements. The vendor may commercialize this technology through the development of kits for retrofitting existing high temperature testing apparatus or through the development of full turn-key systems.

The Army has a high interest in spatially and temporally measuring surface chemistry in these due to the importance of understanding materials degradation as well as multi-physics behaviors, e.g. gas-materials interactions during high speed flows. Surface characterization methods may include imaging approaches and emission spectroscopy techniques. If successful, this technology would provide DoD scientists and engineers a platform for rapidly assessing next-generation, high-temperature structural materials.

Submission Information

All eligible businesses must submit proposals by noon ET.

To view full solicitation details, click here.

For more information, and to submit your full proposal package, visit the DSIP Portal.

STTR Help Desk: usarmy.rtp.devcom-arl.mbx.sttr-pmo@army.mil