An Overview of the Composite Replacement PartsProgram for Military Tactical Wheeled Vehicles

摘要

The U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center, ArmyrnResearch Lab, and researchers at the University of Delaware’s Center for Composite Materials arernworking on a research and development initiative to institute a new state of practice in thernmanufacture of replacement parts/assemblies for Army wheeled vehicles in the objective force. Thernmotivation behind this effort is a focus on corrosion. The Army spends tens of millions of dollarsrnannually on replacement body parts, and billions of dollars annually on corrosion prevention andrncontrol, typically paints and coatings. This program is the first and only comprehensive Armyrnprogram to address the root cause of corrosion by replacing metal with composites.rnThe program vision is to develop an agile manufacturing enterprise capable of re-engineeringrnexisting steel components in composites, selecting tooling and materials suitable to the componentrnarchitecture and production rates/quantities, and using various low-cost liquid molding processesrn(vacuum assisted resin transfer molding, Seeman’s Composites Resin Infusion Molding Process, lowrnpressure resin transfer molding) coupled with intelligent process control to produce theserncomponents. The original equipment manufacturers of the Army’s wheeled tactical vehicle fleet arernnot presently equipped to handle the relatively small quantities of components required in the sparernand repair parts area to justify tooling and production of components that differ from the originalrnsteel body parts. Therefore, composite replacements will be integrated through development andrnimplementation of components on a spare and repair parts replacement basis. The development of arnrobust engineering and manufacturing system will allow tailoring of tooling and process to meet thernneeds of the Army in a timely manner, while producing replacement parts that are cost competitive,rnbut superior in corrosion and functional performance to their metallic counterparts. Each newrncomponent will undergo a testing and validation period, including field trials on military vehicles.rnThe final step in the process is to produce a technical data package for the component to obtainrnapproval within the Army via the Engineering Change Process. This will allow Army procurement tornpurchase these replacement components for widespread use in the wheeled vehicle fleet.