Impact Resistant Baseplate

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM SBIR 21.4 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) Announcement April 1, 2021: ASO issued for pre-release April 14, 2021: Army begins accepting proposals May 20, 2021: Deadline for receipt of proposals no later than 12:00 p.m. ET IMPORTANT Deadline for Receipt : Proposals must be completely submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Proposals submitted after 12:00 p.m. will not be evaluated. The final proposal submission includes successful completion of all firm level forms, all required volumes, and electronic corporate official certification. Classified proposals will not be accepted under the DoD SBIR Program. This BAA and the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) sites are designed to reduce the time and cost required to prepare a formal proposal. The DSIP is the official portal for DoD SBIR/STTR proposal submission. Proposers are required to submit proposals via DSIP; proposals submitted by any other means will be disregarded. Proposers submitting through this site for the first time will be asked to register. Effective with this announcement, firms are required to register for a login.gov account and link it to their DSIP account. See section 4.14 for more information regarding registration. The Small Business Administration, through its SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, purposely departs from normal Government solicitation formats and requirements and authorizes agencies to simplify the SBIR/STTR award process and minimize the regulatory burden on small business. Therefore, consistent with the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, the Department of Defense is soliciting proposals as a Broad Agency Announcement. SBIR/STTR Updates and Notices: To be notified of SBIR/STTR opportunities and to receive e-mail updates on the DoD SBIR and STTR Programs, you are invited to subscribe to our Listserv by emailing [email protected]. Help Desk: If you have questions about the Defense Department's SBIR or STTR Programs, please call the DoD SBIR/STTR Help Desk at 1-703-214-1333, or email to [email protected]. Topic Q&A : The Topic Q&A for this BAA opens on April 1, 2021 and closes to new questions on May 4, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET. Proposers may submit written questions through Topic Q&A at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login or through the SBIR Mailbox at usarmy.pentagon.hqda-asa-alt.mbx.army-applied-sbir-program@mail.mil. In Topic Q&A, the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing. Once the BAA closes to proposal submission, no communication of any kind with the topic author or through Topic Q&A regarding your submitted proposal is allowed. Questions should be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of a particular topic’s requirements. Proposing firms may not ask for advice or guidance on solution approach and you may not submit additional material to the topic author. If information provided during an exchange with the topic author is deemed necessary for proposal preparation, that information will be made available to all parties through Topic Q&A. Proposing firms are advised to monitor Topic Q&A during the BAA period for questions and answers. Proposing firms should also frequently monitor DSIP for updates and amendments to the topics. This Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) is issued under the Army Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR 21.4. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein will be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under 21.4, found here: https://beta.sam.gov/opp/b79ded14dcf54451bcfb11bddf5cd259/view?keywords=%22army%20sbir%22&sort=-relevance&index=opp&is_active=true&page=1. a. Eligibility The eligibility requirements for the SBIR/STTR programs are unique and do not correspond to those of other small business programs. Please refer to Section 3.1, Eligible Applicants, of BAA 21.4 for full eligibility requirements. b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description, provided in BAA 21.4 for detailed information regarding SBIR/STTR phase structure and flexibility. For this BAA, Department of the Army will accept Phase I proposals for the cost of up to $259,613 for a 6-month period of performance. Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission information, of BAA 21.4 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in BAA 21.4 and the research objectives of this ASO are considered non-conforming and therefore are not evaluated nor considered for award. Phase I proposals shall not exceed 5 pages. Phase I commercialization strategy shall not exceed 2 pages. This should be the last section of the Technical Volume and will not count against the 5-page limit. Please refer to Appendix A of BAA 21.4 for detailed instructions on Phase I proposal preparation. c. Evaluation of Proposals Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, in BAA 21.4 provides detailed information on proposal evaluation and the selection process for this ASO. d. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, Price/Cost Volume, and Company Commercialization Report inclusive of supporting documentation) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website per the instructions outlined in BAA 21.4 Section 4.3 Electronic Submission no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Army SBIR 21.4 Topic Index A214-006 Impact Resistant Baseplate OBJECTIVE: Develop a lightweight cost-effective design for a mortar weapon system baseplate (i.e. of a composite material or structure) that handles high impact loading while in contact with soil. DESCRIPTION: Many different systems, cranes, construction equipment, howitzers, etc., use some form of plate structure to couple loads to ground. These structures often consist of a flat plate with spades on the bottom to interface with the ground. The plate is normally connected to the main structure via a strut and ball-and-socket joint allowing for the plate to adjust to uneven ground. This arrangement means that the load can go through the plate at various angles. The plate also needs to interact with various soil conditions in addition to loads coming from different angles and directions. This tends to result in very heavy and robust metallic structures, which can be a severe detriment to any systems that need to be relocated by hand. For current applications the production versions of these plates are made of cast aluminum or a steel weldment. The Army is looking for lightweight baseplate design that is resistant to the impulse load of the mortar round (which can be up to 500 kips of force) and can be made to conform to the plate with spades design. The material and associated fabrication method should also be low cost such that the final baseplates are in the same price range as current metal ones (no more than $3000.00 for an M3A2 81mm baseplate and $16,600.00 for a M9A1 120mm baseplate). The system should have a fatigue life at least as good as its metallic counterpart (which means it functions correctly for 3,000 firing cycles). The final space claim of the new ground interface plate should also be roughly the same as the old one. The system weight should be less than the current systems, ideally under 20 lbs for an 81mm baseplate and under 100 lbs for a 120mm baseplate. PHASE I: Develop and demonstrate a system that is resistant to impact loading. Provide the conceptual design or model of a ground interface plate that utilizes this material. Demonstrate that the material is an improvement over the standard carbon fiber and epoxy materials (e.g. IM7, Endurance 4505A resin w/ 4506B hardener). The ground interface plate design should be able to handle an impact load of 130 kips at a 45 degree angle from the top of the plate. The plate should fit within a 2 ft diameter by 6 inch tall envelope. The deliverable for this phase will be a report detailing the new design. If a new material is proposed a 1 pound sample of the proposed material will also be required. PHASE II: Refine the material system and produce the selected design using a process representative of plant-scale production manufacturing. Use the material to fabricate a full-size baseplate and demonstrate that it can survive the impulse load. Calculate fatigue life of the baseplate and show that it exceeds 3000 cycles. Generate a design, including fatigue life, for a second ground interface plate that can survive a 500 kip impulse and fits within a 3 ft diameter by 12 inch tall envelope. The material deliverable shall be 10 kg of the developed material and the proposed smaller ground interface plate. PHASE III: Finalize the development of a design solution at production level quantities that can be readily implemented on existing manufacturing equipment. Non-DoD applications include deep well components, sporting goods, fixturing, etc. BACKGROUND: The Army is looking for new lightweight, robust baseplate designs. In 2006 – 2007 a composite ground plate was designed mimicking the aluminum design. It was fabricated using carbon fiber epoxy cloth with unidirectional reinforcement (all carbon fibers running in a single, parallel direction) in the spades. The spades and top plate were made separately and later bonded together. During field tests the leg joints failed under the full impulse load. Recently a 3D woven version was developed without a skirt and with five legs. One design had integral legs and the other had legs that were stitched on. Both designs failed when subjected to the full impulse load during a laboratory test. KEYWORDS: Carbon composite; Advanced materials; Additive manufacturing; High strength material; Mortar; Mortar baseplate REFERENCES: Tomich, A., Littlefield, A., Molligan, D., Burris, R., “3D Woven Composite Mortar Baseplate,” SAMPE 2014, 3 – 5 Jun 2014, Seattle, WA. Littlefield, A, and Sibilia, J,” Simulated Proof Testing of Mortar Baseplates,” Proceedings of 26th Army Science Conference, 1 – 4 Dec 2008, Orlando, FL. Root, J., O’Hara, P. and Littlefield, A.,, “Modular Mortar Baseplate,” US Patent Number: 8707849 (29 Apr 2014) Soheillian, R., Stewart, C., Mone, R., Gurijala, A., “Enhancing the Through Thickness Modulus of Carbon Fiber Composites using Z-Axis Oriented Milled Carbon Fiber,” Boston Materials, 10 Dec 2020. https://bostonmaterials.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/201211-Enhancing-Through-Thickness-Modulus-of-CF-Composites.pdf R. M. Erb, R. Libanori, N. Rothfuchs, A. R. 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