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Project Announcement: Transparent Adhesives for Maintenance and Sustainment Processes

The US Department of Defense is partnering with industry and academia on an initiative to test and develop a better process for producing and maintaining transparent laminates using novel technologies.

Legacy transparent lamination construction and integration methods can be costly and time-consuming.  Such laminates have a limited-service life due to environmental degradation.  Additionally, the legacy interlayer materials require significant autoclave processing to bond correctly, and once laminated, an additional process is required to pot the laminate into a frame or structure for integration on a vehicle.

A parallel-phased technology development approach is recommended for investigating and maturing both a UV-cured optically clear potting adhesive and an integral potting process with Out-of-Autoclave (OoA) manufacture. Objectives for this effort include:

  • Designing a specimen frame for process development of transparent potting adhesive and for the OoA process. This design is to be based on different design elements from ground vehicle platforms to produce a representative window/glazing.
  • Developing an ambient or UV curing transparent adhesive material for potting traditionally laminated transparent armor articles into a frame.
  • Developing an ambient or UV curing transparent adhesive material for potting OoA-produced composite armor articles into a frame.
  • Developing a process to incorporate potting the frame into the OoA process within a single oven curing cycle.
  • Performing ATPD2352U environmental exposure testing on the solution from Tasks 2, 3, and 4 using identical cross sections with the incumbent potting material tested as a control sample.

If you feel your organization has the technical capabilities and would like to be considered for this project, please complete the form below and upload your organization’s technical capabilities statement.

Interested Submissions Due by 8/15/2023.

We encourage the participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), including Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs).